A WOMAN OF THE REVOLUTION 



THEROIGNE DE MERIGOURT 



AN EIGHTEENTH - CENTURY 
MARQUISE. Emilie du Chatelet 
AND Her Times. Frank Hamel. Author 
of " The Dauphines of France," etc. In one 
volume, demy 8vo, cloth gilt. With a photo- 
gravure frontispiece and i6 other illustrations, 
printed on art paper. 

"Mr. Hamel furnishes some vivid and striking 
details of the famous men and women of the time, 
and his descriptions of the cafes and salons are 
lively and entertaining." — Tlie Scotsman. 




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A WOMAN OF TH 
REVOLUTION 1 

THEROIGNE DE MERICOUR 

'i 
l 

By FRANK HAMEL I 

AUTHOR OP i 

''the DAUPHINES of FRANCE," " AN EIGHTEBNTH-CHNTURY \ 
MARQUISE," '' A LADY OF THE GARTER " 



WITH PHOTOGRAVURE FRONTISPIECE 
AND SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS 



New York 

BRENTANO'S 

1911 






T^' 



PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN 



PREFACE 

IN writing the biography of a "Woman of the 
Revolution " I found myself face to face with 
a great difficulty. It was either necessary to presume 
a more thorough knowledge of the events of 1789-93 
on the part of my readers than is general, or make 
constant digressions from the main theme of my story 
as it proceeded. Inequalities have resulted from a vain 
endeavour to avoid these pitfalls. Inequalities, how- 
ever, are to be expected when stirring incidents taking 
place against a background fraught with huge possi- 
bilities are viewed through the eyes of a single figure 
of the crowd. That figure is of a woman who has 
more claim to recognition for her personal characteristics 
than for her performance of outstanding actions either 
noble or valorous. One of Th6roigne's chief charms 
lies in her elusiveness. While she has remained 
practically unknown to English readers, the French 
have never lost interest in the doings of a woman of 
whom they knew little that was authentic and in whom 
their curiosity was aroused by the imaginative accounts 
of Lamartine, Lairtullier, and Lamothe-Langon, on the 
one hand, and the coarse satires of the royalist 
pamphlets and journals on the other. 

Before the publication of Theroigne's " Confessions " 

5 



6 Preface 

in 1892 by M. Strobl-Ravelsberg, all that had been 
written concerning her early life was little better than 
conjecture. But since that date several biographers, 
amongst them M. Marcellin Pellet, M. le Vicomte de 
Reiset, and notably M. Leopold Lacour (whose work 
is very valuable), have all done much to drag forth from 
the mists of obscurity and tradition the history of a 
woman who was neither a fiend in human form, as she 
has frequently been depicted, nor yet a houri of 
transcendent charms and beauty. The latter miscon- 
ception is speedily dispelled by one account of her 
appearance, which credits her with " a wrinkled little 
face, a mischievous expression which suited her down 
to the ground, and one of those turned-up noses which 
may affect the fate of nations." The implication of 
her wickedness also falls away in the light of the 
remarks of one of her enemies, who summed up her 
attitude by saying : " It is difficult to draw the line 
between sentiment and policy in her case. She is 
capable of anything when she wishes to be pleasant and 
useful to those who engage her affections. Her ex- 
treme simplicity goes as far as abandonment. . . . 
She is made for love and close intimacy." 

The dramatic possibilities of Theroigne's life were 
turned to account in 1902 by M. Paul Hervieu, the 
title-r61e of his drama being interpreted by Mme 
Sarah Bernhardt. The stage version led to a dis- 
cussion of its heroine and brought to light the fact 
that the real Theroigne was a striking figure, passionate, 
eloquent, determined, fearless, and loyal ; a lover of 
liberty, the people's friend, and an advocate of her 
sisters' cause. It has been said of her that she was 



Preface 7 

not a heroine in the best sense, that her faults were 
too glaring, her standard of morality too low, that she 
had little nobility, and only enough purity of purpose 
to redeem her obvious shortcomings to some extent. 
But she possessed adaptability and resource, and better 
still versatility. From village maiden and humble 
vachhe, who wandered in the green meadows or 
washed linen on the river banks, she became courtesan 
and virtuosa, adorned with fine robes and resplendent 
in diamonds. Then, impelled by the rush of events, 
she turned patriot and reformer, lavishing the remains 
of her wealth on the altar of her adopted country. 
She followed with unabated interest the work of the 
National Assembly, she became an orator of the streets 
and a partisan of the Girondins. The common people, 
soldiers, deputies, even nobles and princes were in- 
fluenced by her personality. She was carried away by 
the same fanaticism that led many to the scaffold, but 
her fate was even more terrible than theirs, for she 
became lost in mania. Brilliant at the beginning of 
her career, she was caught in a tangle of unbridled 
passions and drawn into a whirl of terror and blood- 
shed. Thus it was said of her that she typified the 
spirit of the Revolution. Perhaps truth is strained in 
this search for an effective symbol. But side by side 
with the legendary Th^roigne who stalks through the 
moving scenes of the late eighties and early nineties 
like a demon possessed, slaying and leading others to 
slaughter, plotting against the life of Marie-Antoinette, 
and suffering at the hands of the enraged Jacobins 
women, is the no less interesting and far more realistic 
figure of the Theroigne of the streets, in her neat 



8 Preface 

riding-dress and feathered cap, deftly handling her pike 
and haranguing the mob from the tribunes of the clubs, 
joining in the fetes of Liberty and raising the voice 
that had been trained for the concert-hall in the in- 
spiring revolutionary hymns. This Theroigne, with 
her captivating ways of cajoling, bribing, and threatening 
by turns, is the one to know and to love. The work 
she did for the people's cause was not valueless because 
it was sometimes misdirected, and the enthusiasm with 
which she inspired the crowd was not to be despised 
because, through no fault of her own, the liberty she 
and others worked for degenerated into licence. 

Frank Hamel. 
London, 191 i. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

THE PEASANT 

A journey through the Ardennes — A capture — An inquiry — Th6- 
roigne's story — Her childhood — Appearance — Education — A first taste 
of romance — An elopement — The injured marquis — His impassioned 
letters — Her musical ability — Concerts spirituel — Tenducci — A musical 
contract — A journey to Italy — A lawsuit — Outbreak of the Revolution 
— Letters to Perregaux — Return to France . . . Pages 17-62 



CHAPTER II 

THE PATRIOT 

Unrest in the capital — The National Assembly — Th6roigne's en- 
thusiasm — In the gardens of the Palais Royal — Th^roigne adopts the 
tricolour — The taking of the Bastille — Theroigne goes to meet the 
King — Provincial riots — At Versailles — New Friends — The march of 
the women — The famous 5th and 6th — The Regiment of Flanders — 
The gate of the Orangery — Theroigne declares her innocence — A 
demonstration of the Rights of Man .... Pages 63- no 



CHAPTER III 

THEROIGNE'S CLUB 

Rise of the political club — The diatribes of the press — The salons 
change their tone — Meetings at the Hotel de Grenoble — Gilbert Romme 
— Theroigne plays a new role — The Club de la Revolution — 
Theroigne and the Acfes des Apotres and other journals — The dame 
politique — The orator — At the Club des Cordeliers — Th6roigne pro- 
poses a resolution — Marching with the deputies . . Pages 11 i-i 52 

9 



lo Contents 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CITOYENNES 

The part women played in the Revolution — Their supporters — 
Women in the clubs — Etta Palm — Contrasted with Theroigne — 
Soci6t6s Fraternelles des Deux Sexes — The provincial clubs devoted 
to the interests of women — The frivolity of certain members — " Long 
live women patriots 1 " — The youngest citoyenue — A typical meeting. 

Pages 153-180 

CHAPTER V 

FLIGHT AND CAPTURE 

Th6roigne leaves Paris — Her reasons for this step — The decree of 
the Chatelet — Had she a mission in Brabant? — From Saint-Hubert 
to Marcourt — At the White Cross Inn, La Boverie — Van der Noot — 
Arrest — The journey to the Tyrol .... Pages 18 1-2 14 



CHAPTER VI 

KUFSTEIN 

" Madame Theobald " is led to her cell — An inventory — A piano in 
prison — The examining magistrate — Inquiry into her conduct on 
October 6th, 1789 — The Dires et Aveux — A surreptitious letter — 
Family affairs — The Baron de Selys — A defender of monarchs — The 
diamond necklace — A dramatic interview — The doctor's report — Fare- 
well to Kufstein — Vienna — The Emperor's clemency — Before the 
judge — Liberty . . . . . . . . Pages 217-258 



CHAPTER VII 
TO arms! to arms! 

The tide of the Revolution — Events of 1790 and 1791 — Federation 
and emigration — The siege of Bellevue — A triumphant reception — 
Theroigne's discourse at the Jacobins Club — Her militant attitude — 
Military ardour of Frenchwomen — Provincial regiments — Appeal to the 
legislators — Theroigne urges women to arm themselves — Her adven- 
ture in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine — A patriotic feast — " Mile The- 
roigne's boudoir" — Chateauvieux — Marie-Joseph Chenier — An imposing 
procession — Thdroigne follows the Moderates , . Pages 259-305 



Contents 1 1 

CHAPTER VIII 

SULEAU 

The demonstrations of June 20th — Where was Theroigne? — Planting 
the Tree of Liberty — Nearing the crisis — August loth— Theroigne 
incites the crowd to slaughter— In the guard-room at the Feuillants — 
Suleau's courage— His death— Royalty takes refuge in the Assembly — 
Attack on the Tuileries — Theroigne receives a civic crown. 

Pages 306-322 

CHAPTER IX 

BRISSOTINE 

Dr. John Moore pays a visit to the Jacobins— His description of 
Theroigne — The September massacres — Instability of parties — Did 
Theroigne join Dumouriez? — She baffles her biographers in the winter 
of 1792 — Her appeal to the Forty-eight Sections — Her last effective 
action in the cause of liberty — The women of the Convention — They 
encounter Theroigne and assault her — Her escape — Various accounts 
of the affair — Theroigne as seen through the eyes of George Forster. 

Pages 323-342 

CHAPTER X 

LA SALPETRIMe 

Fate of the revolutionaries — Theroigne's arrest and detention — Her 
brother intercedes on her behalf — He pleads her aberration of intellect 
— She is placed in an asylum — Her appeal to Saint-Just — At the 
Salpetriere — Visions in her mania — A visitor and inquiries — Esquirol's 
description of her condition — Her death . . . Pages 343-355 

APPENDIX A 

THEROIGNE AND THE ROYALIST PRESS 

Pages 357-362 

APPENDIX B 

NOTES ON SOME PORTRAITS OF THfiROIGNE DE 

MfiRICOURT Page 363 

INDEX Pages 365-369 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



THEROiGNE. {From a Portrait at the Carnavalet) Frontispiece 



THEROIGNE DE MERICOURT 



PACE 

33 



JEROME PETION 



THE FALL OF THE BASTILLE 



THE MARCH OF THE WOMEN TO VERSAILLES 



THEROIGNE DE MERICOURT 



• SI 
. 69 

. 87 

• 105 



MARC-ETIENNE POPULUS, DEPUTY FOR BOURG-EN-BRESSE . 123 

THEROIGNE CONDUCTS THE ORCHESTRA AT THE CLUB DE 

LA Rl^VOLUTION I41 



GILBERT ROMME 



THEROIGNE DE MERICOURT 

LEOPOLD II., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA 

13 



159 

177 
195 



H List of Illustrations 

PAGE < 

THEROIGNE DE MERICOURT 213 ] 



THE CALL TO ARMS, 1792 23I , 

MARIE-JOSEPH CHENIER 249 j 

I 

BRISSOT . . . , i 267 ! 

SAINT-JUST . . . 301 

I 
THEROIGNE AT THE SALPETRlllRE 335 I 



LIST OF CHIEF AUTHORITIES 

Acfes des Apotres {Les), 1789-91. 

Apocalypse (Z'), 1790. 

Aulard, F. A. " Histoire Politique de la Revolution Frangaise." 

■ " La Soci^te des Jacobins." 

Aux 48 Sections. [1792 ?J 

Beaulieu, C. F. de. " Essais Historiques," etc. 

Buchez et Roux. " Histoire Parlementaire de la Revolution 

Frangaise." 
Cabanes. " Les Indiscretions de I'Histoire." 
Carlyle, T. " French Revolution." 
Demarteau. " Etude sur Theroigne de Mericourt " {Revue 

Historique). 
"Discours prononc^ a la Societe Fraternelle des Minimes le 

25 Mars, 1792." 
Duval, G. L. J. " Souvenirs de la Terreur." 
Esquirol, J. E. D. " Des Maladies mentales." 
Goncourt, de. " Portraits intimes du XVIII. si^cle." 
Intermidiaire des Chercheurs {JO^. 
Lacour, L. " Trois Femmes de la Revolution." 
Lairtullier, E. " Les Femmes Celebres de 1789 k 1795." 
Lamartine. " L'Histoire du Girondins." 
Michelet, J. " Les Femmes de la Revolution." 
Moniteur {Le). 

Moore, John. " A Journal during a Residence in France." 
Mortimer-Ternaux. " Histoire de la Terreur, 1792-4." 
Pellet, M. " ;^tude Historique et Biographique sur Theroigne 

de Mericourt." 
Peltier, J. G. "Histoire de la Revolution du dix AoUt, 1792." 
Reiset, M. A. de. "La Vraie Theroigne de Mericourt." {Le 

Carnet, 1903.) 

IS 



1 6 List of Chief Authorities 

Strobl-Ravelsburg, F. de. " Les Confessions de Theroigne de 

Mericourt." 
Taine, H. A. " Les Origines de la France contemporaine — La 

Revolution." 
" Theroigne de Mericourt . . . : Correspondance publiee par le 

Vicomte de V y." (By Lamothe-Langon.) 

" Theroigne et Populus . . . : Drame Nationale." (" Precis . . . 

sur la vie de Mile Teroigne de Mericour.") 
Thiers, L. A. " Histoire de la Revolution Frangaise." 
Tourneux. " Bibliographie de I'Histoire de Paris pendant la 

Revolution Frangaise." 
Villiers, Marc de. "Histoire des Clubs de Femmes et de 

Legions d'Amazones, 1793-1848-1871." 
Villiers, P. " Souvenirs d'un Depurte." 
Vissac, M. de, " Un Conventionnel du Puy-de-D6me. Romme 

le Montagnard." 
Vitu, A. C. J. •' Etudes Litteraires." (Suleau, Frangois.) 

And other contemporary journals, pamphlets, etc., mentioned 
in the text. 



A Woman of the Revolution 
Theroigne de Mericourt 

CHAPTER I 

THE PEASANT 

A JOURNEY by post-chaise through the Ardennes 
was at all seasons a laborious undertaking in the 
eighteenth century. Only the most determined travel- 
lers cared to attempt it when the hilly forest roads were 
rendered almost impassable by snow and ice. In the 
February of 1791 two purposeful gentlemen were 
making their way in wintry weather towards the frontiers 
of Luxemburg. They were French emigres, although 
nothing in their appearance proclaimed this fact. They 
preferred to be on Austrian soil. On the evening of 
the fifteenth of the month they reached Liege, but the 
urgency of their expedition made it impossible for 
them to halt, in spite of fatigue and hunger, and they 
pushed on half a league farther to the little village of 
La Boverie. Their mission demanded secrecy. Leav- 
ing the carriage, they proceeded on foot to the straggling 
cottages which, together with the little church and a 
single inn, composed the village. The inn was their 
destination; it bore the sign of the "White Cross." 
Midnight had already struck, but the travellers did not 
2 17 



1 8 A Woman o{ the Revolution 

approach the house until the night-watchman had gone 
his rounds and all was silent. Then they knocked at 
the door. 

" Who is there ? " inquired some one within. 

" Open in the name of his Imperial Majesty," was 
the command. 

A frightened innkeeper admitted the strangers. 

" You have a lady staying here .'' Show us to her 
room without delay." 

The innkeeper's hesitation vanished at a threat. 
Unceremoniously the strangers entered the apartment 
he indicated. Within all was silent save for the 
regular breathing of a woman asleep. 

The noise had not awakened her, but when a torch 
was brought in the light made her open her eyes. 
Seeing two strange men in her room, she sat up in bed 
and asked them to account for their presence there. 

'* I do not know you, gentlemen," she began. 
" What do you want with me ? It is odious to disturb 
people at this time of night." 

One of the intruders answered courteously enough : 
'* I am commissioned by the Emperor, mademoiselle, 
to remove you to a place of safety. Dress yourself 
and follow us." 

The young woman was not satisfied with this reply. 
She asked for more particulars. 

*' You have enemies, mademoiselle. Your life is in 
danger. Your whereabouts have been traced. Those 
are coming who would capture you. You must flee, 
and at once. We will protect you." 

" You ! By what right do you constitute yourselves 
my protectors ? " 



The Peasant 19 

'*By the right of friendship, pretty one. By the 
right of nationality. Being Austrians we desire to 
guard you against your enemies the French aristocrats." 

In the meantime the speaker's companion made a 
thorough search of the room. Clothes, books, letters — 
all the occupant's personal belongings, in short — were 
heaped together ready for removal. 

Helpless and bewildered, the young woman could 
do nothing to prevent this ruthless handling of her 
property. Her mild protests were unheeded. She 
was told that her papers, if they were left behind, 
would lead to her capture. 

When she was dressed and had eaten some food, 
which was hurriedly put before her, she was taken 
to the carriage. 

" But of what could my worst enemies accuse 
me ? " she asked when told to take her place in the 
vehicle. 

"Of a very serious crime — of being implicated in a 
plot to kill the Queen of France." 

" It is a lie. I know nothing about it. All I know 
is that the people hate the Queen." 

"Why.?" 

" For one thing, she is Austrian — a foreigner. She 
does not understand the people's needs. Besides, the 

Austrians " and then, remembering her companions 

had claimed to be of that nationality, she lapsed 
discreetly into silence. 

A passing suspicion grew into a certainty. Her 
companions' off-hand manners had already given her 
food for reflection, and she reahsed very soon that her 
supposed friends were nothing of the kind. They 



20 A Woman of the Revolution 

were her captors, and in calling themselves Austrians 
they had misrepresented the truth. 

In due course the ill-assorted travellers reached 
Coblenz, where Metternich, the famous father of a 
more famous son, was then staying. This Austrian 
minister had French sympathies and was disposed to be 
friendly to the little colony of emigres settled in that 
town. 

The day after their arrival the two men asked for 
an audience with the minister, and informed him of 
what they had done. 

" I congratulate you, gentlemen," replied Metternich 
when he heard their story, " but your work is not yet 
finished. You must conduct the prisoner to Freiburg 
in Breisgau." 

These instructions were obeyed. They were 
followed by others, stating that the captive was to be 
conveyed to the fortress of Kufstein. On March 
17th, under the name of Mme Theobald, she was 
received there by the governor himself. She had lost 
her last chance of escape. 

Two months passed. Then one day a carriage 
drawn by four horses dashed up to the prison gates 
and out stepped an examining magistrate. 

*' How is Mme Theobald ? " was his first question. 

" She is only fairly well," was the reply. 

Before long the new-comer was taken to the 
prisoner's cell. He was surprised by her charm and 
youthful appearance. The purpose of his visit was 
to hear her life-history from her own lips. With a 
wave of the hand he dismissed the jailer who had 
accompanied him, and was left alone with the prisoner. 



The Peasant 21 

Fixing his steady gaze upon her, he said, " You are 
Mile Theroigne de M^ricourt, are you not ? " 
*' Yes, I am she," replied the prisoner simply. 

The story she told, supplemented from other 
sources, some more, some less reliable, was full of 
strange vicissitudes, of ups and downs in fortune, of 
struggles and of aspirations — the story of a waif and 
stray of lowly birth, who was carried by forces stronger 
than herself amidst scenes of bloodshed and horror 
into which were drawn at the same time the very 
highest in the land of France. 

Born on August 13th, 1762, at Marcourt on the 
Ourthe, in the province of Luxemburg, some forty 
miles from Liege, Anne-Josephe was the daughter of 
Pierre Terwaine or Terwagne and his wife Elisabeth 
Lahaye. Terwagne became the more euphonious 
Theroigne in French, and Anne-Josephe added de 
Mericourt from the name of the village where she 
was born — a name, she said, for which she had never 
had cause to blush. Some biographers have called 
her Lambertine, but there appears to be no authority 
for this appellation, nor was it a recognised nickname. 

Anne-Josfephe was the eldest of the family and was 
born a year after the marriage of her parents. She 
had two brothers ; Pierre-Joseph, born on December 
25th, 1764, and Joseph on September 28th, 1767. 
Three months later Mme Terwagne died, and, after 
being a widower for six years, her husband married 
again and reared a second family of nine children, the 
eldest of whom was born in 1774. 

Terwagne was a well-to-do peasant, but he engaged 



22 A Woman of the Revolution 

in lawsuits and unsuccessful speculations, and his 
afFairs became so much involved that he had to mort- 
gage or sell his land. 

When Anne-Josephe was left motherless she went 
to stay with an aunt at Li6ge. There she was sent 
to a convent school, and learnt to sew. She made her 
first communion about this time. After she had been 
at school for a year her aunt married, and refused to 
pay any more school fees. She made her niece work 
in the house, and turned her into a domestic drudge. 
Presently she was set to mind the children. Anne- 
Josephe fled from Lidge back to her father's house, 
only to find that her new stepmother treated her no 
better than her aunt had done. Then she and her 
two brothers fled from the paternal roof 

The elder of the boys went to Germany, and stayed 
with relatives of the name of Campinados. This name 
is worth noting, because Mile Th^roigne admitted 
that she presently assumed it herself. Her younger 
brother accompanied her to Xhoris, in the principality 
of Stavelot, now in the province of Liege, to stay 
with connections of her father's. Here, too, her lines 
seemed to have fallen in unpleasant places. She was 
now thirteen years old, and was forced to work very 
hard, harder almost than her strength allowed ; nor 
did she find compensation in the aff^ection of her 
relatives. Feeling life to be unendurable, she returned 
to her aunt's house at Liege, but was treated there no 
better than before. Once more it became necessary to 
make a fresh start. In the face of her aunt's protests, 
and sacrificing all her childish possessions, Theroigne 
escaped from the conditions she found insupportable 



The Peasant 23 

and went to Sougne, in the province of Limburg, 
where she learnt to herd cows. In this humble calling 
she spent a year, when, actuated once more by the 
uncontrollable restlessness which seems to have been 
one of her chief characteristics, she went back to Liege 
and took a situation as a seamstress. Still dissatisfied, 
she begged hospitality of another aunt of the name of 
Clamend, at Xhoris. But no sooner had she arrived 
there than she became acquainted with a strange lady, 
who apparently took a fancy to her, and asked her 
to accompany her to Antwerp and take charge of her 
little daughter. Her new employer, however, did not 
wish to pay Theroigne's expenses from Xhoris to Ant- 
werp. Theroigne appealed to her aunt Clamend, who 
sided with the girl's grandmother in advising her not 
to travel so far with a lady about whom she knew 
nothing. Th6roigne insisted, and won the day, her 
aunt finally contributing towards the travelling ex- 
penses. Some weeks later Mile Theroigne's new 
mistress abandoned her at the inn where they had 
been staying in Antwerp, and she might have been 
left destitute had it not been for an English lady at 
the same place, a certain Mme Colbert, who interested 
herself in the girl's forlorn position and engaged her 
as a companion and governess to her children. 

Thdroigne was now sixteen. She had more charm 
than actual beauty. She was well grown, but not 
tall, with bright eyes and chestnut-coloured hair, rosy 
cheeks, and a wonderful vivacity that seemed in- 
exhaustible. Never for a moment was she dull or 
inactive. When she was happy she blossomed like 
a flower on which the sun shines. There was a 



24 A Woman of the Revolution 

sparkle in her eyes, alertness in every change of 
expression, and life in every gesture. She often 
hummed at her work, and she spoke at this time in 
the language of the Walloon peasants, which, crude 
as it may be, sounded like music when uttered by 
her tuneful voice. There was harmony and a sense 
of completeness about Th6roigne which made it diffi- 
cult to remember that she was only an uneducated 
girl of the lower classes. Concerning the extent of 
her knowledge at this period it is difficult to discover 
anything definite. The most that can be said is that 
she possessed an insatiable love of learning. She had 
been for a short while in a convent school, but the 
fact that she had moved from place to place in her 
youth made it impossible that she should have had 
much opportunity of study. Her letters, even of later 
years, are not the letters of a well-taught individual ; 
but many of the best-trained women of that day dis- 
closed the same faults in writing. She confessed that 
when a young woman she was very ignorant, and 
could hardly read or write ; but this admission was 
made under examination in prison, when it was to 
her advantage to feign to be illiterate. The appoint- 
ment of governess which she claimed to have filled 
is no guide as to her own attainments, as her teaching, 
if it existed at all, was probably most elementary. But 
any one who knew the value of education as Theroigne 
did — for she continually exhorted her brothers to make 
the most of their chances, even at the cost of work- 
ing all night long — was bound to make the best of 
her many opportunities of acquiring information. She 
was soon to travel, to live in luxury in several of the 



The Peasant 25 

capitals of Europe, to study operatic singing, to con- 
sort with well-informed men, to acquire books and 
music, and to gather experience from the wide field 
of human struggles and human sorrows ; so that, taking 
into account a natural aptitude for assimilating know- 
ledge, Th^roigne cannot be regarded as ignorant or 
stupid, although she was by no means brilliant intel- 
lectually. 

Her benefactress, Mme Colbert, was the first to 
discover her genuine musical talent, and to turn it 
to account by allowing her to train her voice. For 
four years Theroigne remained in the household of 
this lady, who treated her kindly. During that period 
they stayed at Ghent, Malines, and Brussels, and from 
there they travelled to London. All this time 
Th^roigne's relatives had no idea of her whereabouts, 
and she gave as an excuse for not writing to tell them 
her ignorance of this ordinary accomplishment. But 
the truth was probably a little more complex. We 
have only -Theroigne's own word to go upon as to 
the way in which the years of her early womanhood 
were spent. She did not wish to divulge anything 
that happened to her, for very obvious reasons. 

In London a foretaste of romance came into her 
life. A rich young Englishman who visited Mme 
Colbert's house began paying court to her in a manner 
she felt to be honest and, at the same time, delicate. 
He was good-looking, persuasive, apparently in 
earnest, and he uttered words of passionate love to 
this charming untutored girl of twenty. Realising the 
difference in their positions, Mme de Colbert, who 
took a motherly interest in Theroigne, warned her to 



/ 



26 A Woman of the Revolution 

be on her guard, and finally, when the young man 
insisted on continuing his importunities, she forbade 
him the house. But he never ceased to write passionate 
love-letters to the object of his adoration — Thdroigne 
does not say that she was unable to read these — and 
he walked up and down outside the house for hours 
in the hope of catching a glimpse of the woman who 
had fascinated him. Theroigne followed the wise 
counsels which had been given her, and sent back his 
letters with a message that he must write to her no 
more. She confessed artlessly that it would have hurt 
her terribly if he had obeyed. For a whole year his 
attentions in no way relaxed, and his constancy 
inspired in her a love as keen as his own. 

One evening Mme Colbert was out. The young 
man made his way into the house, and with passionate 
insistence begged Theroigne to elope with him. At 
first she protested, but he would not take her refusals, 
and continued to make advances which she found it 
difficult to repel. She was on the point of screaming 
for help, when he put his hand over her mouth to 
silence her, and carried her off by main force to the 
carriage which he had waiting. Theroigne spoils this 
dramatic account of her abduction by adding that his 
promises sounded sincere, and her affection for him 
stifled her prudence. She was not an entirely un- 
willing victim therefore. Her chief sentiment appears 
to have been a feeling of regret at leaving her pro- 
tectress in this unexpected and seemingly ungrateful 
manner. 

The eloping couple, according to Theroigne's 
account, went to live upon the young man's estate 



The Peasant 27 

near London, where they were to have been married. 
Her abductor was not of age, and how he came to 
have an estate of his own is not explained. At any 
rate, he was expecting soon to be in possession of a 
considerable fortune. He thought the wise course to 
take was to wait until he had inherited his money 
before entering into a marriage with a penniless bride 
of no family without his parents' consent, feeling 
certain that such a step would meet with their entire 
disapproval. Theroigne admits in her rather confused 
narrative that, had she wished it, she was sure he 
would have married her then and there in spite of 
everything. She preferred to wait, so that he should 
not risk the loss of his fortune. 

When at length they were in possession of the 
money it brought them no happiness. Theroigne's 
lover turned out to be a spendthrift. He took her 
to Paris, and there lavished his money on luxury and 
vice. Theroigne did her best to check this taste for 
excess, but was unable to arrest his downward career. 
Feeling certain that it was impossible to hope for her 
lover's reform as long as he remained among his boon 
companions in Paris, she did everything she could to 
persuade him to return to England. At last he agreed 
to this plan. 

'* If," says Mile Theroigne naively, " I had married 
my lover when we were back in England we might very 
easily have remained happy until this 'day." But 
vice had eaten into his heart. He no longer cared 
for the simple joys of the country. He returned to 
London, and left his mistress behind. She, feeling 
assured that it would not be for her happiness to 



28 A Woman of the Revolution 

bind her life irretrievably to that of this dissolute 
young man, decided to flee from him. This she 
did, not without much grief, for she still loved him. 
It was the year 1787. 

Her lover had behaved very generously to her. 
She was now in possession of a sum of two hundred 
thousand livres. She placed forty or fifty thousand 
livres, according to her own statement, out at interest 
in the hands of a friend. 

There is probably a great deal of truth in this 
version of Theroigne's lapse from the path of strict 
virtue, yet it must be accepted with caution. Was 
the young Englishman of wealth and position her 
first lover ? He was not her only lover. Another 
story which bears as little guarantee of scrupulous 
accuracy as Theroigne's was told by the Baron de 
Mengin-Salabert, who arrived at Kufstein in possession 
of a detailed report of her past life made out in 
connection with the procedure of the Chatelet as to 
her doings on the famous 5th and 6th of October, 
1789. 

The little one, when about thirteen years of age, 
had herded cows, said the clean-shaven, powdered 
baron, who had been a priest until the Revolution 
had deprived him of his living and sent him to dwell 
in the Low Countries. Growing weary of her humble 
station, and feeling within her the power to rise to 
a very different sphere of life, she determined to 
go out into the world and seek her fortune. Her 
first venture was in domestic service at Liege, and 
this position was not likely to extinguish the fire of 
her ambition. Quite to the contrary, declared the 



The Peasant 29 

facetious baron — who enjoyed his joke more than was 
altogether consistent with one who had belonged to 
the priesthood — after being a servant she felt herself 
more than ever capable of playing the role of mistress, 
and, with this end in view, she made the acquaintance 
of a young lawyer in the town, who speedily suc- 
cumbed to her fascination. But growing weary of 
the arrangement before long, she looked forward to 
fresh adventures, and in this chance favoured her. 

One day when she was washing linen on the 
banks of the Meuse she began to sing. A romantic 
chronicler gives some charming details of her appear- 
ance. She was wearing a short striped skirt, and the 
cambric handkerchief that was pinned across her 
shoulders left her beautiful white neck and arms 
bare ; no ugly cap hid the luxuriant tresses of her 
hair, which were loosely tied together with a ribbon. 
Her eyes shone, and her teeth were like pearls. She 
was quite alone. Her voice was peculiarly attrac- 
tive. She gave utterance to a melody which had all 
the charm of a siren's song. As the last notes died 
away she became aware of a listener. Standing behind 
her was a young Englishman " with a form like An- 
tinous and the head of Adonis." Fascinated and 
enchanted, the new-comer was not long in remarking 
that so sweet a maiden was wasted on the menial 
occupation of washing, and he proposed that she 
should leave her task and accompany him to Spa. 

According to the baron's account, Th6roigne showed 
no coyness, nor did she scruple to leave one protector 
for another. A promise that her musical abilities 
should be developed was sufficient to make her throw 



30 A Woman of the Revolution 

caution to the winds. After Spa, the Englishman 
took her to London, and fulfilled his word by giving 
her a music- master. 

She went on the concert-platform and became a 
successful performer. Abandoned by her lover, con- 
tinues the baron, she lived alone, and after three or 
four years spent in London went to Italy. 

But here the baron went too fast. His zeal had 
outstripped his knowledge. He might have dwelt 
more carefully on the identity of Theroigne's music- 
master. He knew, apparently, nothing of the visit 
to Paris. 

Th6roigne had said very little about the stay there, 
speaking more fully of her return to London. One 
indiscreet word she had let fall, however, referring to 
a certain individual with whom she had had financial 
dealings in the French capital. 

The second journey to London had been arranged 
so unexpectedly that she had not had time to sell her 
furniture or to rearrange her investments. 

*' We left suddenly," she says, *' to my great con- 
tentment, but to the regret of my friends, especially 
the one who managed my income for me, and who 
desired to keep me in Paris." 

Questions as to this individual being forthcoming, 
she was obliged to confess, a little reluctantly, that 
the gentleman had paid her attentions which had not 
altogether escaped her notice, but because he was 
elderly she believed that his years precluded any pos- 
sibility of a warmer affection for her than might safely 
have been indulged in by an uncle. She had accepted 
his '* more than sympathy " with gratitude and a sense 



The Peasant 31 

of absolute security. He had shown his affection in 
a manner suitable to his years and to her position 
and tastes. He had given her good advice, he had 
had a say in the matter of her household arrangements, 
and he wished to teach her French. Nothing could 
have been more innocent. " From time to time," she 
adds, in that childlike spirit which is so charming, 
*' I found presents lying on my toilet-table, valuable 
presents, without my being able to guess how they 
came to be there, or who was the anonymous donor." 

At the moment of leaving Paris she discovered all. 
The old gentleman was the author of these mysterious 
gifts. 

She did not fail to impress upon her examiners the 
surprise that she had felt when she knew the truth. 
" He reproached me with my coldness," she declares. 
*' I confess I thought it very ridiculous that he dared 
to speak to me in the way he did. The whole thing 
offended me, and I forced him to take back all his 
presents. If I had known to whom to send them 
in the first instance, certainly I should not have kept 
them for a single moment." But here Theroigne 
would have done better to spare her indignation and 
her hearers' blushes. She implies that there were so 
many possible sources from which the presents might 
have come, that to trace their origin would have been 
no easy task. 

" In spite of my honesty," she continues in her 
" Confessions," " he was not to be deterred from 
writing to me in England and later to Italy " — letters 
which she considered most unsuitable. *' They wounded 
me to the last degree, and I made him aware of it. 



32 A Woman of the Revolution 

Since then I have had to complain of this man on 
various grounds. ..." 

All the time she knew that several of the letters 
were in evidence against her. Her judges, after read- 
ing them, were obliged to state that her relations 
with their writer, the Marquis de Persan, were not 
to be dismissed as lightly as she would have liked 
them to be. 

A deed was in existence concerning the fifty thousand | 
livres she was supposed to have placed in the care of the \ 
Marquis at an interest of ten per cent. It was dated ' 
April 2 1st, 1786, and worded as follows : 

'* Anne Nicolas Doublet de Persan, Chevalier, | 
Marquis de Persan, Comte de Dun and de Pateau, j 
acknowledges his liability to Demoiselle Anne-Josfephe ; 
Th6roigne, minor, living in the Rue de Bourbon- i 
Villeneuve, to the extent of an annuity for life of l 
five thousand livres exempt from all tax or deduction, 1 
payable in two sums, at an interval of six months, this . 
arrangement being made in return for the fifty thousand 
livres which the said Marquis de Persan acknowledges ! 
and confesses to have received from the said Demoiselle 1 
Theroigne. He is at liberty to liquidate the debt by I 
returning the said sum to her." 

Was this document genuine, or, which is more i 
probable, was it a method invented by her protector ! 
to save a young woman's reputation and at the same ; 
time ensure her a good income ^ Theroigne kept up ; 
the fiction for several years. She declared she had 
amassed her little fortune in England and only in- 
vested it in Paris. It had been her intention, she said, | 
to return to her father's house under an assumed i 




THEROIGNE DE MERICOURT. 
From a painting attributed to Greuze. 
Reproduced by permission of BraH7i Cle7nent it Cie. 



33 



The Peasant 35 

name, explaining that she was a widow whose husband 
had left her well provided for. She was prevented 
from carrying out this scheme by the untimely death 
of her father, as will presently appear. Her affairs 
were in the hands of two bankers. One in London, 
a Mr. Hammersley (she spelt it Hammerslys), was 
probably a partner in Messrs. Ransom, Morland & 
Hammersley, of 57, Pall Mall, a firm connected with 
musical interests who received subscriptions for operas 
and concerts at that time. The other was a well- 
known Paris banker, Perregaux (whose name oddly 
enough is mixed up with the story of the Queen's 
necklace), to whom she wrote voluminous letters, 
many of them preserved. 

Whence her income was really derived it is difficult 
to be certain, but that she had plenty of money at 
this period of her life and enjoyed spending it may 
be regarded as convincing. Both in London and in 
the Rue de Bourbon-Villeneuve, Paris, she led a life 
of ease and pleasure ; frequenting the opera, supping 
at restaurants, making a stir v/herever she went on 
account of her youth and beauty, her sparkling eyes 
and her dazzling diamonds, her pretence of modesty, 
which revealed, when once dispelled, a happy confi- 
dence and a yielding familiarity. She was fresh and 
lithe and charming, and her reserve melted like snow 
before the sun of wealth and kindness. Her musical 
talents were undeniable and they won success both in 
London and Paris. It was said that she sacrificed 
everything for notoriety, for triumph on the concert- 
platform ; that she exercised lavishly her power to 
gather laurels and inspire violent passions ; that she 
3 



36 A Woman of the Revolution 

desired to illumine all the gatherings she honoured 
by her presence as though she herself were their 
centre, their brilliant sun. Her grace, her originality, 
the play of her mobile features, her coquetry, taste, 
and elocution were gifts which ensured the achieve- 
ment of her aims. " Persons who like myself used to 
frequent the theatres and public places of entertainment 
before 1789," wrote Comte Thomas d'Espinchal in 
his " Journal de Voyages et de Faits relatifs a la 
Revolution," " can remember that only a few years 
previously there often appeared at the Opera, and 
particularly frequently at the Concert Spirituel, alone 
in a large box a fair unknown who called herself 
Mme Campinados, covered with diamonds, having 
her own carriage, coming from a foreign country, 
wearing the air of une fille entretenue, but giving no 
account of the resources at her disposal. This was 
the same person who, after the Revolution, appeared 
under the name of Mile Theroigne de Mericourt." 
D'Espinchal, who accused her wrongfully of many 
excesses and even atrocities, described her as little, 
not very pretty, and wearing already a somewhat 
dissipated air, although, he said, she did not then 
show signs of the ferocious character she exhibited 
later. 

If it were indeed to M. de Persan that Theroigne 
owed her livelihood, the means by which she obtained 
her musical training, her luxuries and diamonds, 
it can only be admitted that she appears in the 
worst light possible, for she neither loved him, nor 
did she apparently show the least gratitude to him 
for all he gave her. The Marquis was a personage. 



The Peasant 37 

Born in 1728, he had become a Councillor of the 
Parlement of Paris at the age of twenty, and Maitre 
des Requetes in 1754. He married a Mile Aymeret 
de Gazeau ; and at the time he knew Theroigne, when 
he was himself nearly sixty years old, he had a son 
over thirty. He was only distantly connected with 
Mme Doublet de Persan of salon fame, although 
inaccurate biographers made him out to be her son. 
During the continuance of the strange relationship 
between marquis and peasant-maid — that is to say, for 
three or four years — there was a constant struggle for 
the supremacy of the love of the former over the 
*' demon of music " possessed by the latter. But 
Theroigne was to win the day, and de Persan was left 
disconsolate and disillusioned. Probably their liaison 
began in 1785, perhaps in 1784, and before 1787 her 
affections, if she ever indulged in any towards him, 
had wandered elsewhere, and the connection was 
finally broken in the following year. His letters are 
full of reproaches, and he condemns her for not having 
kept to her bargain — such a bargain as any courtesan 
might have made. 

" You are right in saying that all things here are a 
matter of exchange," he writes, " but it is necessary 
that it should be a fair exchange. You know that my 
attachment to you will last for ever, and you say in 
response that the feelings you have for me will be as 
my behaviour merits. There is no equality about this. 
When you apparently gave yourself to me, I en- 
deavoured to obtain for you all that you could desire ; 
even going beyond my means to do so. What have I 
had in return ? Often harshness, and never a continu- 



38 A Woman of the Revolution 

ance of the affections which alone give happiness. 
Have I found this sweet gentleness, this abandonment, 
this confidence that a man who loves has a right to 
expect from the woman who is attached to him ? " 
Another time he writes to her : *' You will not doubt 
that it will be a pleasure to me to see you, especially 
if you will treat me as a cherished lover. But if you 
put on airs I shall be miserable." 

At the end of October 1787, about a month 
later, he reproaches her anew. " What have I done, 
dear one, that you should write to me with the 
coldness which is apparent from your last two 
letters ? I answered you with sentiments of the 
most sincere attachment. I have always counted on 
your affection, and I hope that you do not mean to 
give me cause for grief ; to me who have never 
caused you grief. Have I not always done what- 
ever you wanted ? You desire to part from me ? 
You wish to exploit your talent and woo a fortune? 
Your mind must be wandering ! I brought you to a 
better way of thinking, and you agreed with me when 
I had a talk with you some time ago. You made me 
pay a year's more annuity than I owed you, so that 
you might be furnished with all you required. 
Nevertheless I did it. 

" Grant me a year to pay off the remainder. You 
might very easily do me this favour. I will pay you 
every six months, including the interest, and your 
income as well. Send me a receipt for the half-year as 
a sign that you agree. It seems to me that I merit 
this mark of friendship. 

" As you say you desire to part from me, I expect 



The Peasant 39 

you to deal me this blow, although I can hardly 
believe that you will wound me so deeply, for I confess 
to you that if I saw you exploit your talents and go on 
the stage you would be destroying the good opinion 
1 have formed of you. I should not think it worthy 
of you. I sacrificed everything to hinder you from 
making this mistake in connection with David two 
years ago. You do not do your true friends justice. 
If you have decided not to return to France, sell me 
your furniture. I ask this as a privilege. You will 
at all events find it ready for you if you return. . . ." 
This reference to Giacomo David or Davide, the 
great Italian tenor usually known as " David le p^re," 
is significant. He was probably the first who inspired 
Th6roigne with a wish to break away from her 
amorous old protector, the Marquis de Persan. 

Born at Presezzo, near Bergamo, in 1750, David was 
thirty-five when Theroigne met him in Paris in 1785, 
whither he had come to take part in the concerts 
spirituel which were then at the height of their popu- 
larity. These concerts, which had become quite a 
musical institution in France, dated from the early 
years of the reign of Louis XV. They were held in 
the Salle des Suisses of the Tuileries on the occasion of 
religious festivals when the Opera House was closed ; 
that is to say, not more than twenty-four times in the 
year. Foreign artists usually met with a courteous 
and often an enthusiastic reception there. Among 
the most illustrious who sang in Paris at this period 
were Cafarelli, Farinelli, Raff, Mme Mara, and Davide. 
The first appearance of the last-named was not an 
unqualified success, owing, it was said, to the fact that 



40 A Woman of the Revolution 

the Parisian public was not then accustomed to the florid 
Italian style. But at least he won one devout admirer. 
Possessed by the dangerous demon of music already 
referred to, Th6roigne was suddenly seized by the 
desire to follow Davide to Italy and to sing with him 
there. Probably the musician, flattered as he may 
have felt by the girl's evident adoration, was too 
discreet to take advantage of it. It is fairly obvious 
that if he had been a willing partner to any such 
arrangement, no powers of persuasion exercised by 
de Persan would have been sufficient to prevent the 
hot-headed Theroigne's " mistake," even at the cost he 
mentions of " sacrificing everything." It is far more 
likely that Davide's domestic ties were too binding to 
permit him to enter into any compromising connection 
with a woman, however beautiful. He was rewarded 
for his discretion in the person of his talented son 
Giovanni, who earned for his father and teacher the 
title by which he was known to posterity. 

The danger from an attachment to Davide once 
averted, de Persan expected to recover his former 
influence over his mistress. In this he was mistaken. 
Her submission was not to be of long duration. Self- 
willed, impulsive, whole-hearted in whatever she set 
out to do, already at the mercy of states of exaltation 
which were to increase when fed by the excitement 
of the Revolution, Thdroigne soon broke loose and 
followed the musical tendencies which at that moment 
called to her more strongly than any other passion. 

She describes her return to England, but as regards 
her life there all is conjecture. In his letters M. de 
Persan upbraids her for her callous disregard of his 



The Peasant 41 

wishes that she should remain in France. Was she 
with a lover, as she declares in her " Confessions," or was 
she alone ? Was she secretly married ? Why should 
she have concealed the fact ? She never admitted 
having had a daughter, although two receipts were 
brought forward at her examination in prison which 
referred to expenses connected with the death of a little 
girl of the name of Frangoise-Louise, otherwise called 
Mile Septenville, the daughter of Mile Anne-Jos^phe 
Theroigne, or Campinados. The documents are dated 
respectively April i8th and 19th, 1788, and refer 
to sums of sixty-seven livres for a doctor of the 
name of Cervenon at Paris, and three hundred and 
sixty livres for board and other expenses connected 
with illness to one called Kertzen. Not a word is 
there as to the child's age, nor a clue as to its father. 

One thing at least is certain with regard to her visit 
to England. She thought of increasing her means by 
singing at concerts, and in trying to find the best music- 
master in Loadon she fell into the clutches of the 
notorious Tenducci, with whom she was presently to 
sign a curious agreement. 

Tenducci's career in the United Kingdom had been 
chequered by strange adventures. He was born in 
1736, at Siena, and in his youth steps had been taken 
to render his voice of a peculiar quality and timbre — 
a custom which was usual among opera-singers in Italy 
of that date, and which survived in the choir of the 
Sistine Chapel until the middle of the last century. 
About 1760 Tenducci left Italy for England, where he 
speedily gained a vast reputation as a singer at Covent 
Garden and elsewhere. He was associated with the 



42 A Woman of the Revolution 

celebrated Dr. Arne, and took part with Peretti and 
Miss Brent in this composer's opera, Artaxerxes. In 
1764 Walpole heard Tenducci in London, and described 
him as ''a moderate tenor." Not long after this the 
singer went to Ireland, where he disgraced himself by- 
abducting a young heiress. Villiers tells the story, more 
or less accurately, in his *' Souvenirs d'un Deporte " : 
*' Tenducci, the Italian singer, proud of his successes 
at the concerts spirituel in Paris, came to London, and 
from thence went to Ireland, where, in spite of his 
hideous face, this new Abelard managed to please a 
young heiress and elope with her. This event, which 
made a great deal of noise, was the occasion for a law- 
suit which for many years kept all England interested 
and amused, and almost ended in the hanging of 
Tenducci. The laws of the country making no refer- 
ence to the condition of the singer, the judges were 
greatly embarrassed. Tenducci maintained that no 
law prevented him from contracting a legitimate 
marriage. Everything was arranged, however. The 
young Irishwoman was returned to her family a virgin, 
and Tenducci was set free from prison to go back to 
the stage." 

The other side of the story appears in a document 
printed in 1768 by Mrs. Dora Tenducci, which she 
entitles *' A true and genuine narrative of Mr. and 
Mrs. Tenducci in a letter to a friend at Bath, giving a 
full account from their marriage in Ireland to the 
present time." This pamphlet appears to be a true 
account of the persecutions which attended the rash 
elopement. Tenducci was seized and cast into prison 
at Cork, Dora was captured and kept in confinement 



y The Peasant 43 

by relatives who brutally ill-treated her. It appears 
that the lovers had met frequently at a friend's house 
near Dublin, that Dora's love of music had been the 
cause of the original friendship, that her parents had 
invited the tenor to their house, and that he had given 
her lessons in singing without taking any fees. This 
point was of technical importance in the case, for it 
was endeavoured to prove against Tenducci that he had 
abducted a pupil. The defence was that the young 
lady had married him entirely of her own free will. 
In the Public Advertiser for September i6th, 1766, 
a note occurs in the Irish news to the effect that 
" Mr. Tenducci desires, by a letter from his confinement, 
as an act of justice, to contradict the mention of his 
having been a tutor to the young lady whom he 
married." The tenor went so far as to state that he 
never was entertained as a singing- or music-master 
by any person or persons since he had performed in 
the kingdom, had never taught the art of singing, and 
consequently had never had a pupil. Nor was he 
received by the friends of the young lady — whose 
name he would not mention but with the utmost 
respect — on any such footing. 

The persecution of the young wedded couple went 
on for a year. Tenducci was a spendthrift and con- 
tinually in debt, which fact greatly aggravated the 
audacity of his attempt to carry off an heiress. At 
length Dora's father ceased to oppose the match. 
The young wife's narrative, which had ended in 
August 1767, received an additional note by September 
that a remarriage had taken place and that she was 
allowed to remain with her husband in a chosen retreat. 



44 A Woman of the Revolution 

Another version of this curious episode is to be 
found in the Morning Post for June 1 6th, 1 7 8 1 , under 
the title of "Authentic Anecdotes of the celebrated 
Tenducci." The Journal states that *' about fourteen 
years ago this remarkable character visited Ireland, 
and from his acknowledged capacity in the science of 
music, added to a natural pleasantry in his disposition, 
which suited the temper of the natives, he soon became 
a favourite. The females of lerne are not proof 
against those tender sensations created by * concord 
of sweet sounds ' ; and Tenducci was so unfortunate 
as to be the object of a lady's affections, who was 
beautiful in person, elegant in her manners, a perfect 
proficient in music, and descended from an ancestry 
both antient and respectable. After some tender, 
stolen interviews on the subject of Almighty Love, 
an honourable union was agreed upon, and Cupid 
conducted the fair native of Hibernia to a neighbour- 
ing priest, who joined her in wedlock to this son of 
Romulus. It is thought the pages of romantic love 
do not furnish such another instance of persecution 
as Tenducci suffered in Ireland, in consequence of 
this connexion ; but it had no other effect upon the 
fond couple, at that time, than to unite them still 
stronger in a mutual affection. After many fruitless 
efforts made by the family for the purpose of 
separating them, it was agreed that they should leave 
the kingdom and warble their woodnotes in some 
foreign land for a subsistance. The first place these 
celebrated fugitives visited after their departure was 
the capital of Caledonia ; here they were received 
with open arms. Tenducci was remarkable for 



The Peasant 45 

singing the Scotch music, which, it is acknowledged, 
reaches the heart with greater force than the com- 
positions of any other nation ; and his bride was little 
inferior to him, either in the excellence of her voice, 
or the elegance of her taste. They continued here 
for some time, until he was called to London in 
consequence of an engagement at the Opera. On 
the expiration of his agreement with the Managers, 
they changed the scene, and visited Italy, mutually 
participating in all the enjoyments of domestic blandish- 
ment. But alas, who can command a life of happiness ? 
The lady, as she advanced in years, had acquired an 
experience destructive of her peace ; she found her- 
self uneasy, and would sit and sigh 'the live long 
night away." Tenducci grew fatigued in his turn, 
and a separation ensued : she returned to England, 
and shortly after an application was made to the 
Conclave at Doctors' Commons for a divorce^ which 
was obtained to the satisfaction of both parties. On 
the completion of this business, Tenducci again visited 
Britain ; and so devoted, says our correspondent, is he 
to Scotland, that he goes every summer to Edinburgh ; 
no foreigner, we are informed, was ever so hospitably 
received in that country as Tenducci ; and if we 
are not very much deceived, few people entertain a 
more grateful sense of past obligations than this 
disciple of Calliope^ 

Tenducci appears on the scene again some twenty 
years later in his connection with Th6roigne, who, it is to 
be hoped, knew nothing of the manner of man he was. 
It is in her favour, perhaps, that he deceived her as he 
had done many other women. '* In spite of his age " 



46 A Woman of the Revolution 

(which was now over fifty), continues Villiers in his 
account, " his ugliness, and his still more hideous 
character, . . . Tenducci doted on our illustrious 
Comtesse de Campinados. She brought him back to 
Paris in 1788, and as she then had many diamonds, 
much silver plate, and a quantity of gold, he took 
possession of her, refused to leave her, travelled with 
her to Italy, devoured all her possessions, and died at 
the end of a year. 

" Mme Theroigne de M^ricourt, having nothing else 
left, returned to Paris, where, as is well known, she 
became the corypheus of Robespierre's tricoteuses." 

Here mistake is heaped on mistake. Tenducci did 
not die until the following century, and Theroigne, who 
was not absolutely ruined by the musician, never joined 
the furies of the guillotine. 

The truth, as far as it can be ascertained, was as 
follows. In 1785, whilst Theroigne was still presum- 
ably under the protection of the Marquis de Persan, 
though ready to leave him for the first musician or 
foreigner with musical abilities who presented himself, 
Tenducci was at the height of his reputation as a 
teacher, if not as a soloist, in London. In the Morning 
Herald and Daily Advertiser for July 2nd of that year, 
it may be seen that he had under his care '* a pupil 
who promises to become the greatest singer that ever 
was in this country." This was not Theroigne, but 
a sister-in-law to the famous Professor Cramer. *' Under 
so able a hand," continues the journal, " we do not 
doubt that her future fame is assured, particularly when 
we remember the improvement he has made in the 
voice of the present first opera woman — so powerful 



The Peasant 47 

a rival will perhaps bring down the insolence of the 
supercilious Mara, as well as add honours to Tenducci." 
Mme Mara was at the height of her wonderful powers, 
and, like other famous opera-singers, was inclined to be 
capricious at times. 

Theroigne, then, aflame with her desire to sing 
before the public, had discovered a musician with a 
splendid reputation as a producer of virtuose available 
as a teacher. Hideous, repulsive, and a deformity as he 
must surely have appeared to her, all physical drawbacks 
were forgotten in her ambition and a passionate devo- 
tion to music. She had admittedly taken up her plan 
of singing in order to earn money. " The more," she 
adds, with one of her sudden scruples, which appear 
oddly out of place when viewed in the light of many 
of her actions, " because in England prejudices against 
singers hardly exist, or have very little importance. 
The position is not regarded unfavourably, especially 
if one limits oneselt to singing at concerts." 

Tenducci' s usual charge for lessons was half a guinea 
each, but Theroigne, feeling unable to afford so large 
a sum, offered him eight shillings, and consented to 
have her lessons at odd hours whenever it suited her 
master. Moreover, this price was not to be paid until 
she had earned it by singing at concerts. Tenducci 
seemed content with this arrangement, and took her 
to a lawyer, who drew up an agreement between 
master and pupil. It was not surprising that Theroigne, 
in spite of her apparent astuteness, was imposed upon 
by the unscrupulous musician. For one thing, she 
knew little English and less Italian. " There was 
not a single person who could have advised me," she 



4^ A Woman of the Revolution 

says in her '' Confessions." *' I had no experience. I 
was acting in good faith, but was dealing with a scamp 
who had a very different contract drawn up to the 
one he described to me. It did not contain any of 
the things we had agreed upon. Everything he 
substituted was to my disadvantage. It was a false 
agreement in all the clauses, and I had the imprudence 
to sign it without having it read over to me and 
explained. Amongst other things there was a clause 
relating to a forfeit of a thousand louis if I failed to 
carry out my part of the contract, and other conditions 
which utterly revolted me when at length I had the 
deed read and explained to me for the first time in 
Italy. A statement was even inserted that I should 
sing at the theatre, which was simply a lie, as it would 
have been easy for me to prove." 

In the contract Theroigne was described by three 
different names, which led to considerable confusion. 
First of all she appears as Anna Gioseppa le Comte, 
an appellation which she said had been given her by 
Tenducci ; secondly as Anna Gioseppa Campinados, 
which was her grandmother's name, and which she 
adopted *' by a fantasy which appeared to her quite 
innocent " ; and, strangely enough, the third time she 
is described as Anna Gioseppa Theroigne Spinster. 
This manner of describing her absolutely nonplussed 
her examiners at Kufstein. Not recognising the 
English word " spinster," and receiving no help from 
Theroigne (who had either never known its meaning, 
had forgotten, or was resolved for purposes of her 
own not to explain that it meant she was unmarried), 
they attempted to trace the existence of a possible 



The Peasant 49 

Mr. Spinster who might have been, had he existed, 
the father of her child. 

" What does the name conceal," inquired her inter- 
locutor in prison — " a secret ^ " 

"You have no right to ask me that question," 
replied Theroigne angrily ; '* my private life concerns 
no one." 

He still pondered. Spinster of the 73rd regiment 
in England. Who was he ? A husband ^ A lover ^ 
He would never know. '* We cannot force your 
confession," he said. 

This curious mistake has since been made by other 
chroniclers, whose exhaustive research on this point 
has likewise proved fruitless. 

Having signed the contract drawn up in favour of 
the unscrupulous and grotesque musician, she also 
agreed to travel with him to Italy, accompanied by 
her two brothers and a half-brother. She tells in 
her " Confessions " the story of the manner in which 
their journey came about. 

" Having no distrust, and still acting from good 
faith," she declares, " moreover, feeling assured that 
the contents of the contract were according to the 
arrangement I had proposed, I quietly prepared to 
return to my country to offer money to my father, 
afterwards meaning to go to Paris and sell the furniture 
which I had left there. 

'* My music-master, whose involved affairs, as I 
discovered later, made it necessary for him to flee 
from London," knew I had money. Being cunning 
as well as a rogue, he foresaw, not without reason, 
that my father, pleased to have me with him again, 



so A Woman of the Revolution 

might wish to keep me and my money, and that 1 
might be compelled to renounce my career as a singer. 
My master prepared to come with me for this reason, 
under pretext that business was calling him to Paris. 
In reality he hoped to obtain the forfeit of a thousand 
louis, and to return to London alone to pay his debts." 
Here Theroigne credits Tenducci with too much 
honesty. 

" Not knowing the real motives which forced him 
to leave England," she continues, " I accepted his 
offer, with the intention of doing him a good turn, 
and for the sake of continuing my lessons. 

'* In order not to lose time I carried a small piano- 
forte in my carriage. This procured for me the 
pleasure of singing as often as I wished, even whilst 
travelling. So we set out. 

" When approaching the Ardennes and near the 
village of Jupille, I was suddenly informed of bad news. 
My father was dead. I thought I too should die of 
grief. It appeared they had written to me at London, 
but the letter reached England after my departure. 

" I had therefore to modify my plans. After having 
given a little money to my stepmother, I took my 
brothers with me and went to Paris. There I placed 
in the public funds forty thousand livres at eight per 
cent., to give me an income of three thousand two 
hundred livres. In the meantime my master, installed 
with us at Paris for the purpose of attending to his 
supposed affairs, found himself very much embarrassed. 
The death of my father had spoilt his plans, and he 
dared not return to England, as he had nothing where- 
with to satisfy his creditors. 




JEROME PETION 



51 



The Peasant 53 

" He tried therefore to persuade me to leave for 
Italy. He represented all the advantages which would 
accrue in the way of education for my brothers. He 
insisted above all on the facilities I should have in that 
country for perfecting myself as a musician. One 
of my brothers who had also a taste for music would 
be in a good school, and so forth. 

'' In short, I decided to take the journey to Italy, I, 
my three brothers, and my master. Tenducci promised 
to reimburse me for the expenses of the journey. In 
the interest of my brothers, in the interest of my art, 
I thought I was doing the right thing in undertaking 
this fatal journey." 

The actual date at which this ill-assorted couple left 
London is difficult to determine. In April 1787 
Tenducci appears to have been still teaching in the 
English capital, as on May 3rd of that year one of 
his pupils was singing "for the first time on any stage" 
at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. With regard 
to his indebtedness, the declaration of his bankruptcy 
is to be found in the London Qazette of February 
1 2-1 6th, 1788, in which he is described as Ferdinando 
Tenducci, now or late of Dean Street, Soho, music- 
seller, dealer, and chapman. He was cited to surrender 
himself to the Commissioners on February 21st 
and 28th, and on March 29th. This is all the 
evidence from which the date of departure may 
be conjectured, but it is safe to assume that it was 
somewhere between May 1787 and February 1788. 
Nor can the length of their stay in Paris be definitely 
fixed. A letter written by the Marquis de Persan 
shortly after Theroigne had left for Italy throws some 
4 



54 A Woman of the Revolution 

light on her movements. From it Theroigne would 
appear to have shown him but scant consideration, nay, 
hardly bare courtesy. He complained that he was not 
allowed the privilege of seeing her alone for more than 
a few moments, after all that he had done for her. It 
was with difficulty she had obtained his acquiescence 
to her visit to London, and she far outstayed the limit 
he had fixed for the journey. On her return to Paris 
she had broken entirely away from his influence. There 
is one significant passage in the letter. " You were 
always duped," he says, " by all the Italians and 
foreigners with whom you made friends." This state- 
ment throws a light on Theroigne's revolutionary 
career. She was led far too easily by her companions. 
De Persan's letter reveals his bitter disappointment in 
her. 

*' My sentiments towards you will never change," 
he writes ; " can you say that you have anything to 
complain of in me ? It is true that I could not come 
to see you before you left. Two reasons prevented 
me. Business was the first, the second was that I 
knew I had very little influence on your manner of 
thinking. When you left for England, it was only 
to be for two months. You remained there for six. 
On your return to France I saw you still had the 
same passion for music. You were bound by relations 
with a virtuoso in whose company you intended to 
go to Spain. From Paris you went to your own 
country. After that you were taken by a desire to 
go to Italy. Can I find in that the slightest mark 
of friendship and gratitude for me ^ With difficulty 
I saw you alone for a quarter of an hour. I foresaw 



The Peasant SS 

what would happen with your master. You always 
treated me badly, though I never did aught but good 
to you, and you were always duped by all the Italians 
and foreigners with whom you made friends. 

" You were right to give me particulars about 
yourself and your family. No one will ever take a 
greater interest in them than I. If you believed 
that I neglected you, it is necessary for you to let 
me know as soon as your season at Genoa ends. You 
will have proved by then how the one who has sworn 
to love you for ever will have carried out his bargain. 
What did you tell me when you went to England .? 
That it would not interrupt our friendship ; yet when 
you return to France, I know that you have entered 
into an engagement for five years. Did you ever keep 
a single promise that you gave me .? Tell me, which 
of us two has a right to complain of the other ^ Yes, 
chere amie, you have treated both my heart and my 
purse very badly. 

'' Adieu, dear one. Count on the feelings with 
which you have inspired me, and which, in spite of 
the wrong you have done me, will only end with the 
life of him who will love and honour you always. 

"De Persan. 

*' P.S. — I see with pleasure the progress you have 
made in your studies, because you write French far 
better than you did. It is strange that you should 
grow perfect in this language whilst you are in Italy. 
I fear the demon of music which possesses you. It 
has not helped you at all so far." 

The Marquis was a shrewd man of the world and 



56 A Woman of the Revolution 

perhaps no one understood Theroigne better than he 
at this period. He foresaw that her impetuosity 
might be the cause of her undoing. It was apparent 
in everything she undertook ; in her music, her friend- 
ships, her revolutionary activities. She advanced 
blindly, without pause or forethought, and she dashed 
herself against the obstacles which appeared in her path 
without calculating the danger she ran of injuring 
her own powers and leaving the obstruction exactly 
where it stood before. Of stuff like this martyrs are 
made ! 

She had not been in Genoa for long before she 
realised that Tenducci was utterly unscrupulous. 
She broke away from him as soon as she could. 

" My master threw off his mask," she explains in 
her "Confessions." "He told me I should have to carry 
out all the clauses of our agreement. He endeavoured 
to force me to sing at the theatre of this town. I 
felt it was an outrage. I took the advice of honour- 
able people. I wrote to my friends. I consulted my 
lawyers. All of them assured me that under the 
circumstances my contract was absolutely null and 
void. 

" During these proceedings my master spread 
calumnies about me everywhere. But people knew 
him as well as me. My friends sent me infamous 
letters which he had written about me and which 1 
produced against him. The man I had loved even 
sent me, by an express from London, information about 
my professor with an extract from bankruptcy pro- 
ceedings, accompanied by the advice of an English 
lawyer. 



The Peasant 57 

" I obtained justice. I was at last free of him, but 
I lost the expenses of the voyage and two hundred 
louis which I had advanced on the lessons he had 
still to give me. The disdain that people have for 
singers in Italy and the unpleasantness I had ex- 
perienced disgusted me with a musical career, as 
much for myself as for my brother. The latter, who 
had been sent by me to Naples when my lawsuit 
took place at Genoa, was recalled ; I did not wish him 
to continue his studies. Being rather more accustomed 
to economy, I thought we had enough to live on." 

Had she but realised it, the price she had paid 
for being rid of so dangerous a companion as Tenducci 
was a cheap one. 

When she had been there about a year the stay 
at Genoa began ,to weary her, and she thought of 
going to Rome. What she did in Genoa can only be 
surmised. The lawsuit, the fact that she had trusted 
her master only to be deceived, the mere idea of being 
connected with the stage against her will gave her a 
feeling of distaste for the life she had been leading. 
It must be confessed that her scruples concerning the 
continuation of a musical career appear so inconsistent 
with her ambitions and general attitude towards life that 
a suspicion creeps in as to whether she has been mis- 
judged in other respects. It is impossible not to call 
in question her sincerity, if not her uprightness. 
Perhaps her friendship with the Marquis Durazzo had 
something to do with this question of her future, or 
perhaps after her quarrel with Tenducci she found the 
avenues to musical success closed to her. Some of 
the experience she had gained was all to her advantage. 



58 A Woman of the Revolution 

In the course of study a classical singer acquires 
general information which is useful in other walks of 
life. 

Theroigne's financial position was now becoming 
insecure. She found it difficult to obtain the supplies 
from de Persan which she had come to regard as her 
chief resource. She borrowed money from Durazzo 
and from Perregaux, and tried to establish a corre- 
spondence between these two, who were both of them 
financiers. She wrote to the latter concerning the 
former : *' I should be charmed to be the means of 
making the letters of so delightful a gentleman accept- 
able to you. Command my services. 1 expect to 
make some stay in this lovely town." 

On March 9th, 1789, she wrote from Genoa to 
thank Perregaux for the trouble he had taken to 
obtain payment for her from M. de Persan, and 
enclosed all the necessary papers to make such for- 
malities easier in the future, as another six months' 
income was already due. Her letter is simple and 
businesslike, although somewhat discursive, as her 
letters to her Paris banker always were. He seems 
to have been as easily wound roijnd her little finger 
as most of her other friends, and she never hesitates 
to ask for his financial help both on behalf of herself 
and her brothers, although, in his case, she was never 
lacking in gratitude. 

" I am much obliged to you, monsieur," she con- 
tinues, "for the kindness you have shown in permit- 
ting me to draw upon you whilst I was waiting to be 
paid. I beg you to send a draft of a hundred louis 
to your correspondent at Genoa, with an order to pay 



The Peasant 59 

M. Dourazzo and to give me the rest, so that I can 
meet the expenses of my voyage to Rome ; and, at 
the same time, it would be convenient if you had the 
kindness to send me a letter for your correspondent at 
Rome, to whom you can give my money when I am 
paid. 

" As regards my diamonds, I will send them to you 
when I reach Rome, and you can keep them until my 
talents permit me to return to England. 

" If you will be so kind as to send me letters of 
recommendation for Rome and Naples, where I hope 
to go when I have stayed in Rome some time, I 
should be extremely obliged. I shall write also to 
M. Hammerslys. He has already recommended me 
to his correspondent at Genoa. I owe him a great 
deal for all the marks of esteem which he has given 
me. I had the honour yesterday to dine with your 
friend the English Consul, who, for your sake, has 
shown me a great deal of politeness whilst I have 
been at Genoa. 

" I beg your pardon for bothering you with so 
many things. But I have something else to ask of you. 
I believe that you can render me a service. This 
would be all the more agreeable to me since I shall not 
have to have recourse to my supposed friends again. 

" I came to Italy to sing and to study. I brought 
with me my three brothers — one of them is studying 
painting, and the two others a commercial life. As I 
am obliged to travel, I wished to establish the eldest 
at Li6ge, where we have relatives who are in business. 
I have need of three thousand livres, or three thousand 
five hundred livres, in order to purchase a manager- 



6o A Woman of the Revolution 

ship for my eldest brother, so that the income derived 
from it will be enough for his needs while he is study- 
ing in an office. 

" Nevertheless I have reflected that if I should die 
you would lose your money. I wish to render this 
service to my brother, and I am rather embarrassed 
about it. If only you would advance the sum for a 
year, you should receive half of it back every six 
months, with the interest, and you would be entirely 
repaid in a year, counting from next month. If you 
will do that for me, I assure you I should be extremely 
obliged. I would have asked Mr. Hammerslys in- 
stead, but as my income is from France, I thought it 
would be simpler to make the proposition to you. I 
beg you to give me an answer to this by return of 
courier, as I shall not decide upon any other course 
until I know what you think about it. 
" Your servant, 

" Anne-Josephe Theroigne. 

" Please address your answer to the English Consul's, 
your correspondent at Genoa." 

Impulsive as ever, she changed her mind almost 
immediately after despatching the letter and, instead of 
awaiting a reply, sent her brother to Paris with a 
second appeal dated March 22nd. *' I beg you to give 
ten louis to my brother who will hand you this letter," 
she writes : " he is the one of whom I spoke to you 
who is going to Liege. You will then have the kind- 
ness to send three thousand livres to Liege, not to 
include the ten louis which you will give him for his 
journey. 



The Peasant 6i 

** Please send the money to your correspondent as I 
have already advised, with orders that it is only to be 
used for the purchase of this appointment, and that he 
will have the kindness to pay the same in my brother's 
name, for fear that they would make him pay more 
than the business was worth, or counsel him to invest 
his money less solidly. I have no other fears on his 
behalf, for the young man is very sensible, and I hope 
that, considering his good carriage and manners, you 
will be persuaded to take an interest in him. It is 
true that I have no real claim to so much service and 
good-nature on your part. You hardly know me, and 
I can only ask for the generosity of a kindly heart 
from you. So that I hope my brother will awaken 
your interest on his own behalf, and that you will 
do your best in order that he may be well recom- 
mended at Liege. You will therefore please give him 
a letter of recommendation. He has need of nothing 
beyond advice and protection, because he will be 
established at Liege as soon as his talents and faculties 
enable him to start in business. That is why I beg 
you to give him a letter to your correspondent in order 
that the latter may take him into his office and teach 
him. I ask no more of you than this." 

She informed Perregaux that she was leaving for 
Rome and asked him to address his reply to the Poste 
Restante of that town. 

Her concern for the happiness of her brothers is 
one of Theroigne's noble traits. They were hardly 
ever out of her thoughts, and whenever she had any 
money she willingly shared it with them. 

Her younger brother, who was to be a painter, was 



62 A Woman of the Revolution 

to begin his studies at Rome. Theroigne did not 
make a protracted stay in the Eternal City. The stir 
and movement of the Revolution in France could not 
long remain hidden. Reports of the doings in Paris 
reached her ears and excited her latent curiosity. 

As soon as her brother was settled in lodgings she 
left Rome and made her way back to France. What 
happened to her half-brother at this juncture does not 
appear. He was called Pierrot and eventually he be- 
came a soldier. 

When she was back in Paris Th6roigne wrote to 
Perregaux to thank him for the care he had taken 
of her books and for his thoughtfulness in returning 
them to her as soon as she gave him a permanent 
address. Then followed the usual request for a favour 
on behalf of her brother Joseph. " I hope, monsieur," 
she writes, " that you have not forgotten my request 
and that you have sent a letter of recommendation on 
behalf of my brother at Rome. If by any chance you 
have not yet done so, I beg you to recollect this 
matter and to ask your correspondent to watch over 
his progress and over his person whilst he is staying 
en pension^ in order that we may be able to judge what 
sort of an education they are giving him. I shall be 
extremely obliged to you." 

With Th6roigne it was a case of "Love me, love 
my brothers." 



CHAPTER II 

THE PATRIOT 

THESE first rumours of the Revolution which 
reached her at Rome produced a great impression 
upon Theroigne. " When I learnt that a National 
Assembly was in process of formation and would be 
open to every one, I was enraptured by the idea," she 
says in her " Confessions." In that hour the patriot was 
born. In that hour the aspirant singer, the adventuress 
in search of culture, fine raiment, and jewels, died 
in her. She forgot that she was not French by 
nationality, she forgot that she had been spending a 
life of luxury and ease in Paris ; she remembered only 
that she had been a peasant, that her sympathies were 
with the French people, and that in a struggle for liberty 
she must take their part. Her natural love of life and 
movement, her thirst for knowledge and experience, her 
need of a definite form of expression for her energies, 
made it inevitable that she should be drawn into the 
whirlpool where these qualities might be utilised and 
satisfied. But as yet no thought of such activity 
had entered her mind ; she was simply the student, and 
desired to understand more of the political crisis which 
was shaking the country to its very foundations. Hence 
her interest in the National Assembly and her desire 
to be present at its sittings, and to learn something 

63 



64 A Woman of the Revolution 

of the constitutional measures brought up there for 
debate. 

Fascinated by the prospect of witnessing the grand 
and extraordinary spectacle which she believed was 
about to unfold before the gaze of an astonished and 
applauding world, she had hurriedly put her affairs in 
order so that she might be able to depart for France 
without delay. It was the nth of May, 1789, when 
she reached the capital, full of curiosity and expectation, 
a woman whose heart beat wholly for the people, and 
who was willing to devote her untiring powers to their 
services. 

At first she felt strangely bewildered after her return, 
not in the least realising the meaning of what was going 
on around her. Paris was changed as well as herself. 
There was a murmur of expectancy, an undercurrent 
of discontent she could not fathom. The French were 
no longer the happy, busy, gay people she had known. 
They gathered into knots and groups at the street- 
corners, in the wine-shops, and in the public gardens. 
They scowled and muttered threats, they spoke loudly 
and gesticulated wildly, or they whispered ominously, 
which was the most dangerous of all. They spat, they 
swore, they stamped, and flourished the newspapers 
they were reading, full of a tremendous purpose at 
which Theroigne could only guess. She looked for 
old friends who could explain matters to her, but it 
was not easy to find any one who had leisure enough 
to repeat to her eager ears all that had taken place 
in the past few months, with which they were already 
perfectly familiar. It was not the time for retrospect ; 
the hour of the forward march had struck. In her 



The Patriot 65 

doubt she turned to the papers for enlightenment ; and 
the reason of the people's agitation, which at first was 
dim to her comprehension, grew gradually clearer. 

The people were perishing, unable to pay the price 
of bread, unable to find work ; or if at work, then 
wretchedly under-paid, over-taxed, burdened with dues, 
an oppressed multitude, " a vast herd scattered far 
beyond the visible horizon, everywhere ill-used, starved, 
and fleeced." 

(Women, hearing the price of food was dearer, gave 
vent to shrieks of rage, men cursed their own impo- 
tence — both compelled to these forms of expression by 
fear of actual starvation. Women and men stood for 
hours in the queues outside the bakers' shops, fighting 
for the sour, earthy lumps of dough which did duty 
for the staff of life. Women robbed the grain markets, 
men attacked loaded carts on the main roads, supposing 
their burden to be grain. The determination of these 
plunderers was extraordinary ; nothing seemed to tire 
or repulse them. Violence produced violence. It was 
not easy to stay the hand of the desperate workmen 
who were fighting grimly for a bare existence. 

Theroigne recognised no place for herself in this 
general hubbub, and remained quietly waiting in her 
lodgings at the Hotel de Toulouse. She tried to 
occupy herself with the music which had hitherto been 
her greatest solace. She hoped that if strife were to 
come, as it seemed it must, she too might share the 
people's struggle and help them, if only with her voice, 
to regain their freedom. The fever that was in the 
air was creeping into her blood. Insidious, slow but 
sure, the poison of class-hatred was spreading more and 



66 A Woman of the Revolution 

more, and threatening an outbreak between the antagon- 
istic forces which must result eventually in bloodshed. 
How, then, should Theroigne remain immune from this 
infection ? " The general stir and excitement affected 
me very soon," she says significantly. " I had no under- 
standing of the unacknowledged rights of the people, 
but I naturally loved liberty. An instinct, a keen 
feeling which I could not define, made me approve of 
the Revolution without in the least knowing why, for I 
had but little instruction." 

Presently she learnt, fragment by fragment, at the 
sittings of the National Assembly, and from talks with 
some of the deputies, the needs of the people, the evils 
they desired to remedy, and the means that were 
proposed in order to bring about these longed-for m 
results. 

When Theroigne arrived in Paris the first riot of 
importance had already taken place at the factory of 
the paper-maker Reveillon, the employer who was 
accused of believing fifteen sous a day enough for 
any journeyman. Theroigne might have learnt some- 
thing there of the starvation wages of the people and 
their sufferings. She was too late also for the opening 
of the States General at Versailles on May 5th, and 
only heard afterwards of the terrible disappointment 
of the populace when it was found that the Government 
had made no definite proposals of reform, and that 
Necker, in the opinion of the black-robed deputies of 
the Tiers-etat, had utterly failed to grasp the situation. 
What had they not hoped from his speech ! Being 
ordered to confer on the subject of their legislative 
powers with commissioners of the other two orders, 



The Patriot 67 

those of the third, among whom were Garat, Thouret, 
Volney, Barnave, and le Chapelier, debated for a 
fortnight to no purpose, as Target, Mounier, and 
Rabaut de Saint-Etienne had to confess in consultation 
with their colleagues. On June loth they decided on 
the bold step of inviting the nobility and clergy to 
join them. All to no purpose. Then they declared 
themselves ready to form a separate entity. On 
June 17th, on the motion of Sieyes, the deputies 
of the Tiers-etat constituted themselves the National 
Assembly, the legislative body which should be open 
to all, and to the sittings of which Theroigne was 
looking forward with an eagerness which seems strange 
in one who had lived her previous life. 

Theroigne's interest in the Revolution was not 
allowed to slacken for want of events to feed it during 
the first few weeks of her return to Paris. On 
June 4th the Dauphin died, and the Queen was 
plunged in grief It was left to the friends of the 
Comte d'Artois, her brother-in-law, to complain of 
the people's insolence in taking matters into their 
own hands, and to attempt to discipline the rebellious 
Tiers-etat by announcing that there should be no royal 
session, which, owing to the closing of the Salle des 
Menus, brought about the celebrated oath of the 
tennis-court. On June 23 rd the postponed session 
took place, and the Tiers-etat, inspired to the step 
by the stirring words of Mirabeau, defied the Crown. 
A few days later the nobles and the clergy, at the 
King's request, accepted the invitation previously offered, 
and the union of the three orders was complete. The 
people's parliament had taken definite shape. 



68 A Woman of the Revolution 

Theroigne was not slow to profit by the privilegei 
accorded her of listening to the debates. "Th 
National Assembly," she says, " seemed to me a] 
fine and noble spectacle ; I was struck by its majesty. 
I experienced emotions of an elevated nature there 
and my soul soared to unknown heights. At first I 
did not understand much of all these discussions an 
deliberations, but gradually a light glowed in me, am 
I realised clearly the position of the people as opposei 
to that of the privileged classes. Then my sympathiei 
for the former grew greater, the better informed 
became, and were transformed into an ardent love whe: 
I was persuaded that justice and right were on the sid^ 
of the people." 

At first, according to her own account, Th^roign 
was quite content to remain a spectator among thi 
crowds. She walked in the streets and squares, 
questioning one person and then another, trying to 
understand their hopes, their fears, and their struggles. 
The early years of hardship she had endured had never 
been forgotten, and served now to awaken her quick 
sympathies with their sufferings. Her independent 
and resourceful nature rebelled at the thought of 
oppression for others. Her heart thrilled with com- 
passion. Her mind demanded time for reflection. 

One of the busiest spots in Paris at that day was 
the gardens of the Palais Royal, which had been 
thrown open to the people by the Due d'Orl6ans. 
This space was surrounded by cafes, wine-shops, book- 
sellers', and gambling-hells, all of them places where 
eager people congregated to hear the news which came 
through from Versailles in a constant stream, brought 



f 



A 




69 



The Patriot 71 

by the agents of the Duke. In the gardens themselves 
men spoke treason and women cried revolt. Those 
who shouted loudest against the existing form of 
government received the most applause. Self-con- 
stituted politicians gave voice to impossible schemes 
for the regeneration of the social system ; they spoke 
of extinguishing privileges, of establishing numerical 
sovereignty, of applying the teachings of Rousseau's 
" Contrat Social." A huge audience of the floating 
population applauded their diatribes, however chimeri- 
cal or fanatic — failures, for the most part, in the arts 
or at the bar, unemployed clerks and officials, pro- 
fessional gamblers, touts, loungers, foreigners : all, in 
short, who had no settled calling. The orators, 
mounted on chairs or tables, gesticulated more and 
more wildly, the crowds of agitators swayed and 
rocked with the strength of their emotions. Closer 
and closer the people thronged, until they became 
so tightly packed that, as Arthur Young described 
the scene, an apple thrown from a balcony on to the 
moving floor of heads would not have reached the 
ground. 

\Those who were in favour of monarchy, aristocracy, 
law, and order dared not venture into the gardens if 
they valued unbroken bones and whole skins. They 
ran the risk of being ducked in the fountains, of 
having to dodge chairs that were flung at them, or if 
not chairs then stones, bottles, or other dangerous 
and unpleasant missiles. And physical activity once 
aroused, windows were shattered, doors were battered 
in, pavements torn up, and trees uprooted. Friends, 
on the other hand, were carried in procession' shoulder 
5 



72 A Woman of the Revolution 

high. People were no longer judged by appearance or 
wealth, but by their attitude towards the new move- 
ment. Theroigne realised that in this spot she could 
learn much. " At the Palais Royal, where I went to 
walk nearly every day," she says, " I assisted at the 
dawn of the new era. That which struck me most 
was the air of goodwill. Egoism seemed to have 
disappeared from all our hearts. There was no longer 
a distinction between the classes. We elbowed one 
another, we chatted as though in the home circle. 
The rich, at this moment of fermentation, mixed 
willingly with the poor and deigned to speak to them 
as though they were their equals. In short, all the 
countenances appeared to have undergone a change. 
Each one dared to show forth his character and natural 
faculties in public. I saw many who, although covered 
with rags, wore a heroic air. However little sensibility 
one possessed, it was not possible to witness such a 
spectacle with indifference." 

On July 1 2th the Palais Royal gardens were the scene 
of an organised debate. Necker had been dismissed 
the previous evening, and in the morning rumour was 
busily spreading to that effect. The populace hastened 
to its usual meeting-place. Camille Desmoulins, not 
yet famous, enthusiast, thinker, and orator, was present 
in the gardens that Sunday morning. He leapt upon 
a table and cried, " To arms, to arms ! " He moved 
the crowd by his eloquence ; he gave them a green 
cockade as a symbol of their purpose. They stripped 
the leaves from the trees and wore them in their hats. 
And then he led them in procession through the town, 
wax busts of Necker and the Due d* Orleans being 



The Patriot 73 

carried in triumph at the head of the column. The 
people pillaged and sacked the bakers', the butchers', the 
wine-shops, and the gunsmiths', and as the evening 
wore on the rioting became more pronounced and 
dangerous. 

V The crowd tried to recruit all who passed, even the 
peaceable people on pleasure intent, or those returning 
from some place of entertainment. All who were 
stopped were forced to answer the invariable question, 
*' On which side are you .? " Women rolling along in 
their carriages found ruffians at their horses' heads, and 
stepped out into the mud in dainty shoes to cry 
" Vive le Tiers-etat ! " Dirty ragamuffins, only half 
clad, approached well-dressed people to beg in the 
name of the Tiers-etat. 

Th6roigne was in the streets accompanied by a 
servant. An intense curiosity impelled her to see all 
she could. Armed men passed and repassed, besides 
many who were in search of weapons. She deliberately 
stopped some of the soldiers and put the favourite 
question to them : 

*' Are you for the Tiers-6tat ? " 

The proceeding was not always a safe one. An 
officer resented the liberty she had taken and threatened 
to arrest her. She fled, and he followed, until, dis- 
covering that she had no one with her but the maid, 
and appeared to be actuated merely by curiosity, he 
gave up the pursuit. 

On the following morning the crowd was even 
greater, there were more armed men than before. 
They had guns, swords, and pikes. The green cockade 
was to be seen in all their hats. Th^roigne followed 



74 A Woman of the Revolution 

the practice and adorned herself with the prevailing 
colour. From her account, it would seem that she had 
not noticed the green cockade before, in which case she 
could not have been present at Camille Desmoulins's 
meeting. Green was the colour of the d' Artois 
liveries, and was soon discarded for the tricolour. 
Theroigne followed the change of fashion without 
delay. She was hardly able to control her excitement, 
and was as much aware as any one of the coming 
struggle. 

That day, the 13th, the electors of Paris, chosen by 
the districts for the purpose of sending deputies to the 
States General, having refused to disperse, flocked to 
the Hotel de Ville. The hours were occupied in 
forming the National Guard of Paris. At first this 
body was composed of twelve thousand volunteers, the 
number being rapidly increased to four times twelve 
thousand. The duty of the Guard was to maintain 
order in the streets. They had not been enrolled a 
moment too soon. On the following day the Bastille 
fell. 

Theroigne had been in the capital one month and 
three days. She had so far done nothing except to 
try to grasp the position of the people and understand 
what was going on. But her chroniclers do not allow 
that she needed so much time to look about her. They 
accuse her falsely of being already active in the revolu- 
tionary ranks by July. " From the first gathering of 
the crowds she appeared in the streets, and devoted her 
beauty to serve as an ensign to the people," writes the 
poetic Lamartine. "Dressed in a riding-habit of the 
colour of blood, a plume of feathers in her hat, a 



The Patriot 75 

sabre at her side, and two pistols in her belt, she 
hastened to join every insurrection." 

■The populace thronged about the great prison on the 
evening of the 13th, The ringleaders interspersed the 
cries for arms with cries of '* To the Bastille." De 
Launay ordered up the drawbridges ; he knew what was 
threatened. On the morning of the 14th the pre- 
dominating cry was first for arms. The tocsin rang at 
daybreak from the tower of every church ; shops were 
closed and barricaded. A report spread that there 
were arms in plenty at the Hotel des Invalides. Pat- 
riots rushed tumultuously towards this possible source. 
Theroigne, says the incorrigible romancier, LairtuUier, 
was at their head. Pauline d'Aumez and Louise 
Bourgeoise, as determined Republicans as herself, 
followed her lead. The Governor, worthy Sombreuil, 
denied admittance to the rabble, assuring any one who 
would listen that he must first send to Versailles for 
orders. Turning a deaf ear to all such expostulation, 
the crowd invaded the halls, rooms, vaults, and gardens, 
seized cannon and musketry, which they dragged and 
carried to the H6tel de Ville. In the shortest possible 
space of time not a musket or a sabre remained visible 
to human eye at the Invalides. "Theroigne was every- 
where," continues the unscrupulous LairtuUier. '' She 
gave the orders, they were obeyed; she had detach- 
ments of men placed at the barriers, she seized the 
dispatches which the Court were sending from 
Versailles to Paris — in short, she organised the un- 
disciplined masses who were newly armed." Truly a 
valiant Theroigne, literally inspired, not unlike the 
Maid of Orleans, for she knew nothing of soldiering. 



76 A Woman of the Revolution 

Lamartine calls her a name that does not suit her — the 
impure Joan of Arc of the public streets. 

Encouraged by their success in obtaining arms, the 
people were ready for action. They joined the large ■; 
crowd already besieging the Bastille. Cries of " Let us 
storm the prison ! " were added to the already existing 
babel. The little garrison summoned the assailants to 
retire. It is an oft-told tale — a well-known tale. 
Those attacking persisted. Two men mounted the 
roof of the guard-house and broke the chain of the 
bridge with axes. Down came the bridge with a 
rattle and clatter ; no less quickly the rabble were 
on it and across it, making for the next bridge over 
the second moat. A discharge of musketry brought 
them to a stand. But the mob was desperate ; the 
firing continued for four, five hours. De Launay had 
half a mind to put a lighted match to the powder 
magazine, and take decisive measures by blowing up 
the fortress. Was it the garrison opposed him, or 
did he fail for want of resolution ? Instead, all of a 
sudden, came the word of surrender. The Bastille 
had fallen. The rush of the crowd, the seizure of 
de Launay, the infinite danger of a young woman 
thought to be his daughter, the escape of the Swiss, 
the triumphant rescue of the seven dazed prisoners, 
the bloodshed which neither Hulin's nor Elie's word 
could hinder ; all these things are familiar to every 
one : yet even reliable historians have over-coloured 
a picture which had more than enough of the dramatic 
element in it, without their aid. De Goncourt, writ- 
ing of Theroigne, gives a stroke of unsurpassed 
imaginative genius. She "leapt with joy, she was 



The Patriot 77 

carried away by the crowd, gunpowder blackened her, 
blood stained her. Beat the drums, sound the tocsins, 
let the people march on. She ran furious, brandishing 
death and destruction. She armed herself at the 
Invalides. She took a tower at the 'Bastille ! " Such 
a feat is too marvellous to be passed over in silence. 
Dusaulx^ places her in the rank of the conquerors, 
and many have followed him. Lamartine bestowed 
upon her the sabre d'honneur^ adding that it was voted 
to her on the breach by the victors. 

^ Lamothe-Langon, an even more picturesque liar than 
LairtuUier, heaps detail on detail regarding her 
presence at the Bastille on the unforgotten 14th. 
She showed herself first in the hottest fire, urged on 
her brother patriots, encouraged them when they 
weakened, brought them back to the charge if panic 
terror turned them momentarily aside. 

"I still seem to be in the midst of that famous day," 
are words he attributes to her. " I hear the sharp 
whistle of the balls, the thunder of the artillery, the 
clamours of the multitude, the cries of the wounded, 
the despair of the mothers and wives whose sons and 
husbands had perished in this holy cause. All remains 
vividly present to me, both in my mind and in my 
heart. Glorious moment, intoxicating day ! How 
quickly you passed ! " 

<v,_Having forced a capitulation, the people penetrated 
into the last refuge of despotism ; the cowardly 
defenders who had turned the guns upon them 
had the impudent audacity to receive them with 
apparent joy, and dared to mingle with the cries 
* " De r Insurrection parisienne et de la prise de la Bastille." 



78 A Woman of the Revolution 

of " Long live the people ! " cries of " Long live the 
King!" 

" Where is the governor ? " demanded Theroigne. 

They pointed him out to her. 

" Assassin of the people ! " she cried ; " you will 
be conducted to the H6tel de Ville, there to render 
your account." She made a signal. They gave him 
no time to reply. They threw themselves upon 
him ; they dragged him towards the Place de la 
Greve. 

So he died. But Theroigne did not stay to see the 
end ; she hastened to help others to free the prisoners. 
When the search was over, the captives freed, The- 
roigne exclaimed : " What, citizens ! shall we leave 
this fortress standing to menace us anew with its fatal 
tyranny ? No ; we must raze it to the ground. We 
must leave the spot now occupied by its walls free to 
the air that will disperse the despotic miasma it has 
exhaled." 

This speech was received with the acclamations it 
deserved, and, placing her in an arm-chair which had 
escaped destruction when the Governor's house was 
burnt, they crowned her with laurels and carried her 
in triumph to the Hotel de Ville, the crowd waving 
aloft branches laden with foliage, and uttering cries of 
victory. 

"It is the triumph of beauty," remarked a voice. 
It was Lafayette speaking. 

Romancists of the class to which Lamothe-Langon 
belongs are plausible only up to a certain point. Be- 
yond that they are carried away by their own visions. 
The arm-chair saved from the flames, and the part 



The Patriot 79 

played by Lafayette in the scene, are altogether 
absurd, 

\Theroigne's own account of the same day is refresh- 
ing in its simplicity after the bombast of her chroniclers. 
"I was at the Palais Royal," she says in her "Con- 
fessions," "when the news came that the Bastille was 
taken. The populace gave way to a noisy and pro- 
longed pleasure. Many wept for joy, crying that 
there would be no more Bastille, no more lettres de 
cachet''' It seems very unlikely that she should have 
invented that natural remark, but simplicity was, of 
course, her role. Denials were her safe course, since 
there was no proof against her. Her accuser, the 
Chevalier Maynard de la Valette, in his notes entitled 
"Dires et Aveux de Demoiselle Theroigne," declares 
she was present when, after the taking of the Bastille, 
de Launay was massacred, that she wished to search 
the cells and release the prisoners. Dressed as a man, 
her musket on her shoulder, she hurried through the 
streets of the capital. She saw the scene with her 
own eyes, he insists ; she saw the Prince de Lambesc 
trample an old man to death under the hoofs of his 
horse. That was on the 12th. It was her word 
against her accusers, and Theroigne adhered to her 
original statement. In spite of several assertions to 
the contrary, her name does not appear in the lists 
of the " citoyens vainqueurs de la Bastille " contained 
in the national archives, on which are inscribed those 
of some six thousand insurrectionists. 

Nor, in spite of her supposed exhortation to the 
people to raze the Bastille to the ground, does she 
mention a word in her " Confessions " concerning the 



8o A Woman of the Revolution 

demolition of the fortress. This work was officially 
ordered the day after the surrender, and was pursued 
without interruption until May 15th, 1791. It was 
directed by the patriot Palloy, who thought only of 
the glory of his task and not at all of the money it 
might have brought him. He gave away a number 
of interesting objects found in the prison, and, later, 
was reduced to indigence. The materials of the edifice 
were removed, and some of the stones were employed : 
in the construction of the upper part of the Pont de 
la Concorde. The site remained open, and various 
plans were put forward for its disposal. Palloy wished 
it to be turned into a Place de la Liberte, in which a 
simple but majestic column should stand. Theroigne 
desired that a palace should be erected there, in which 
the sittings of the National Assembly were to be held. 
She made a stirring speech on the subject before the 
Club des Cordeliers, and, though her motion was 
carried, the plan fell through. Some forty years after 
the surrender of the Bastille the Column of July, 
which now adorns the Place, was commenced, the 
summit being crowned by a bronze Genius of Liberty. 
Theroigne described herself as a mere spectator 
during the demonstrations of July 12th to the 14th, 
but she admitted taking an active part in the events 
of the 17th of the month, when Louis XVL paid a 
visit to Paris to consecrate the triumphs of the Revolu- 
tion. Dressed in a white riding-habit and a neat 
round hat, Theroigne marched in the ranks of the 
soldiers to meet the King. He had taken the sacra- 
ment that morning, made his will, said farewell to 
the weeping and harassed Queen, and set forth from 



The Patriot 8i 

Versailles accompanied by some of the Garde du Corps 
and the hundred deputies appointed by the National 
Assembly to escort him. The new mayor, Bailly, 
received him at the gate and handed him the keys. 
As he drove through the streets of Paris the people 
greeted him with amity. They trusted him to give 
them food. At the Hotel de Ville Louis was met 
by the electors of Paris. The occasion was a solemn 
one. The tricolour was everywhere in evidence. The 
King appeared upon the balcony, a tricolour cockade 
in his hat, and spoke to the enthusiastic people. Then 
others spoke, among them Lally-Tollendal, who made 
a telling speech and became the real hero of the day. 
To him was deputed the task of reporting what had 
taken place to the National Assembly. Meanwhile 
"the Restorer of French Liberty," wearied with his 
unusual duties, was returning to the palace, still 
accompanied by the hopeful and now joyous crowd. 

Thus passed Theroigne's first day of active parti- 
cipation in the Revolution. She was interested in the 
people's attitude when they cheered the King at the 
Hotel de Ville. 1 x^ cries of " Vive la Nation ! " had 
been silenced. They were soon to be heard again. A 
partial tranquillity reigned in Paris, and the highest in 
the land, d'Artois and Condd amongst them, seized the 
opportunity to flee from the capital. But the air of 
security was a treacherous one, liable to disappear at any 
moment. Instances of minor violence occurred now 
and again. Petty thieving, cases of knifing, cudgelling, 
and so forth made the streets unsafe. Marauders grew 
bold enough to tear off the jewels women were wear- 
ing and remove even the silver buckles off their shoes. 



82 A Woman of the Revolution 

Ruffians of the lowest type begged, threatened, and 
robbed those who were better off than themselves. 

In the provinces riots broke out everywhere and 
blazed throughout the remainder of July, August, 
and the beginning of September. The tocsin rang in 
villages and towns, the drums rolled, and cannon were 
mounted ready for use. Houses were broken into 
and destroyed. On July 31st the town hall of Strass- 
burg was pillaged. The populace rushed into the 
building, and forthwith there was " a shower of shutters, 
sashes, chairs, tables, sofas, books and papers, and 
then another of tiles, boards, balconies, and fragments 
of woodwork." The public archives were scattered 
to the winds. At Maubeuge in July the rioters forced 
open the prison, demolished the octroi offices and 
harbour offices, and carried off the custom and excise 
stores. Havoc succeeded havoc. Furniture was 
smashed, valuables thrown into the street and trampled 
on, eatables demolished, houses left empty, ruined, 
blackened by fire, or hacked about so as to be un- 
inhabitable. 

The spirit of revolution spread rapidly through 
Caen, Rouen, Besancjon, and Lyons. At Troyes the 
rioters demanded that the octroi should be suppressed, 
since this had been done in the capital. Chateaux 
were burning and their owners deserting them in fear 
of their lives. The upheaval was terrifying, and in 
Paris a murmuring undercurrent testified to the fact 
that the good impression made upon the people by the 
King's visit was speedily dying out. Distrust towards 
the Court, more especially towards the Queen, was 
increasing daily, fed by suggestive articles in new 



The Patriot 83 

journals calculated to inflame the people, and by the 
stirring denunciation spoken by orators at hastily im- 
provised gatherings. Meanwhile royalty grasped 
nothing apparently beyond its own divine right, and 
the Queen, proud Marie-Antoinette, would fain have 
brushed aside the meaningless signs of a chaos which 
she could not understand, and which she regarded as 
an unwarranted annoyance which must and should be 
speedily removed. 

^ Incidents were not wanting at this hour to fill the 
heart and stir the imagination of Theroigne. There 
was Foulon, the old man not unconnected with the 
story of hay and thistles, hanged to the lantern once, 
twice, three times before he died and his head struck 
off to be carried on a pike ; Berthier, who was butchered 
with such gross accompanying details as make descrip- 
tion impossible. At these things she shuddered, but 
turned her attention with great willingness to the 
exciting meeting in the National Assembly on August 
4th, when the reports from the country were read and 
new decrees adopted. The Declaration of the Rights 
of a Man and of a Citizen — words for ever on 
Theroigne' s lips — was passed before the close of 
August. She admitted that she felt an irresistible 
enthusiasm in the doings of the legislative body, and 
in order the better to assist at the sittings of the 
Assembly she decided to go and live at Versailles. 
She arrived there at the commencement of the debates 
on the Declaration of Rights. She took lodgings in 
the Rue de Noailles with a widow whose name, when 
questioned, she could not recollect, although she was 
able to describe the exact position of the house in 



84 A Woman of the Revolution 

the turning off the grand avenue leading to the castle 
gates. She lived at Versailles all through the summer, 
and there made the acquaintance of Petion and of 
Joseph-Honore, brother of the Abbe Sieyes. Both 
these friends visited at her house. The former was a 
lawyer from Chartres, grizzled though not old, of 
sturdy build, and with a fine soul for the violin. The 
love of music they possessed in common was as strong 
a bond as their love of the people between Th6roigne 
and the future mayor of Paris. 

In September the Assembly was making but little 
progress with its work, and want of confidence in its 
efficiency became more and more marked. Misery 
and insecurity increased. The Court persisted in its 
nonchalant policy. Paris was defied by the bringing 
in of additional troops. On September 23rd the 
Regiment of Flanders was marched into Versailles to 
remain stationed there as a precaution. It was 
customary in the case of such arrivals to entertain the 
new-comers, and on October ist a great banquet was 
given at Versailles by the officers of the Bodyguard 
to these battalions. The festivities became the occasion 
of a royalist demonstration. Tricoloured cockades 
were torn off and trampled under the feet of the 
revellers. W^hite cockades and black ones for the 
Queen were hastily donned in their place, the national 
toasts supposed to be in usage were forgotten, the 
company sang lustily : " O, Richard ! 6 mon roi ! " 
Royalist feeling was allowed full expression. The 
Queen openly rejoiced at the prospect of a lightening 
of her burdens. Were not there people enough who 
were good, loyal, and true } What if some soldiers 



The Patriot 85 

had deserted and sided with the populace ? What if 
others wavered ? Authority must be re-established. 
Her ' must ' was law, and she believed it would be 
easily carried out. She had the indiscretion to 
show her thoughts and to express approval not only 
of the spirit with which the banquet went, but also 
because the royalist acclamations continued throughout 
the whole of the next day and echoed the singing in 
her heart. 

Meanwhile these signs of disaffection to the Revo- 
lution, coming to the ears of the people in an ex- 
aggerated form, caused immediate alarm and suspicion 
amongst them. Something must be done to hinder 
the royalists from giving expression to these unde- 
sirable sentiments. 

** The King should be brought to Paris with as little 
delay as possible. The people willed it. They had 
suffered as much as they would suffer. It was time 
to ameliorate the conditions of starvation under which 
they laboured. Thousands were ready to submit 
plans to this end, and to direct, control, advise, even 
lead those who would become responsible for organi- 
sing them. Hunger had so far invaded the homes 
of the poor that maddened women were ready to 
sacrifice life in redressing the horrors which were 
causing themselves and their children slowly to perish. 
If there was no bread in Paris, they would fetch it 
from Versailles, and fetch those too whose duty it was 
to see they were supplied. Their opportunity came. 
" Men made the 14th of July," says Michelet, '' the 
6th of October was the day of women. Men took the 
royal Bastille, women took royalty itself." Because 



86 A Woman of the Revolution 

the complaints of man did not receive the attention 
their urgency demanded, a woman organised a revolt 
among members of her sex. She ran to the Cafe de 
Foy, a meeting-place where agitators swarmed, and 
there she loudly denounced the royalists. Theroigne 
was not present. Neither was she in the Halles when 
a young woman beating a drum gathered her sisters 
round her and marched them to the Hotel de Ville. 
There were hundreds of them, washerwomen, bare- 
footed beggars, street-rovers, seamstresses, flower-girls, 
scavengers, who followed their leaders into the town 
hall, and tore or burned all the documents on which 
they could lay their hands, saying there had been 
enough scribbling while they were starving — they 
meant to have more practical help. 

Maillard saved them from riot and disaster by 
offering to lead them to Versailles, and so the march 
began, cannon clattering, pikes bristling, hair streaming, 
arms swinging, women's garments fluttering in the 
breeze. Some men wore women's clothes, but were 
distinguished by hairy chins and raucous voices. 
They helped to swell the ranks of those who were 
to advance against the military, in the hope that 
soldiers would not fire on women. 

That was a tramp to Versailles of hungry desperate 
human beings, all intent on one purpose, all full of 
protest — against the Queen ! 

\ That day Marie- Antoinette visited the Petit 
Trianon for the last time and looked regretfully at 
the depredations of early autumn among her flower- 
beds. She saw nothing symbolic in this decay. No 
thought of the dissolution with which the monarchy 




87 



The Patriot 89 

was threatened entered her mind. But a messenger 
came to fetch her to the palace, and there, as she 
faced the first angry mob it had ever been her fate 
to see, she must surely have reflected on the triumphal 
entry into Paris she had made as Dauphine, when the 
people had cried themselves hoarse in praising her 
and her life had opened full of a roseate promise 
which had enchanted her. Years had passed since 
that time, dangerous years in which the rosy prospect 
had gradually faded, vanished, and been replaced by 
black menace. In that hour long ago she had visited 
her people to win their love ; at this hour in the 
present the people visited her to refuse hers with 
scorn. Horrible threats they voiced against her, loud 
curses and expressions so coarse that it seemed im- 
possible women could have spoken them. In a frenzy 
they swore to cut her throat, and to scatter her bones 
to the winds. They were maddened by suffering, 
these women, and in their madness meant to make 
" the Austrian " suffer too. In this they were to 
succeed, before many days had passed, better than 
they would have believed possible. And Theroigne — 
where was she ? 

Carlyle says the brown-locked demoiselle with pike 
and helmet acted gunneress " with haughty eye and 
serene fair countenance," comparable, some thought, to 
Joan of Arc, others to Pallas Athene. "To horse," 
cries de Goncourt, " when the hour of October struck, 
with red plumes, riding-habit of red silk, this radiant 
Penthesilea, this Amazon of Rubens, riding-whip in 
hand, pistols in her girdle, galloping in her triumph, 
in front of the rabble, smiling, with sleeves rolled 
6 



90 A Woman of the Revolution 

to the elbow — it is the beauty of Liege, bringing to 
Versailles pikes which are asking for heads and 
women who demand the destruction of the Queen." 
Lamartine too, not to be behindhand, writes : " On 
the days of October she had led the women of Paris 
to Versailles, on horseback, by the side of the ferocious 
Jourdan, called * the man with the long beard.' She 
had brought back the King to Paris : she had followed 
without emotion the heads of the Gardes du Corps, 
stuck on pikes as trophies." But for sheer imagina- 
tion Lamothe Langon again outrivals all other ^^ 
accounts and describes Th^roigne's doings in those 
early days of October with additional details unheard 
of elsewhere. 

The tocsin woke Theroigne from a stupor. For 
four days and four nights she had not had a moment's 
rest. She had been indefatigable, running hither and 
thither stirring up the people. Mounted on a wagon, 
seated on a board, she described to the people at every 
street corner what had happened at the banquet on 
October ist. She aroused their anger, excited their 
fury, demanded vengeance in the name of the national 
cockade which had been insulted. 

The crowd applauded ; it pressed round her. Sy 
hurried from place to place — from the Palais Royal tc 
the Hotel de Ville, to the Tuileries, along the quays^ 
over the bridges, through the boulevards. Everywhere 
crowds gathered to hear her speak, everywhere she was 
heard with attention and respect. Mirabeau blamed 
her enthusiasm, Bailly thought it ill-timed, Lafayette 
begged her to be less heroic. These were traitors who 
called themselves moderate patriots ! Robespierre, 



The Patriot 91 

Danton, and Marat applauded her. She was their 
inspiration. 

She had spent the night in the streets. When she 
awoke from a short nap she saw before her a group of 
women armed with pistols and cudgels ; behind stood 
men with pikes and halberds. They were waving flags, 
brandishing their arms, growing impatient. When her 
eyes opened she was greeted by the cry of " Vive Meri- 
court, la jolie Mericourt ! Vivat ! Vivat ! " 

She stood up, there where she had snatched an hour's 
sleep under the statue group of Louis XIV. in the 
Place des Victoires, there where some kind friend 
had thrown over her a protecting coverlet, and spoke 
to the people. 
\" Friends, comrades, citizens," she said, "we must 
not waste time here. At Versailles our cockade was 
profaned. At Versailles we must demand vengeance. 
I thank you for your care of me ; offer it rather to 
the country which has more need of it." 

A unanimous shout of approval filled the air. The 
people embraced one another, shook hands and kissed. 
They crowded round Theroigne to seize her hand and 
to kiss that too. " Follow me," she cried, *' follow 
me to Versailles." A responsive roar burst from a 
thousand throats. 

*' We want bread," she went on : " let us seek it 
at Versailles. The people have been insulted. Where ? 
At Versailles. Where shall they be avenged .'' At 
Versailles. Where are the tyrants } Who are they ? 
The aristocrats at Versailles. Where are the deputies, 
our liberators ? At Versailles again. It is from there 
they menace us, there they prepare our punishment, 



92 A Woman of the Revolution 

there where our enemies plot to harm us. Let us go 
to them, let us stop them in their wicked courses, 
let us judge them, sacrifice them, and when their 
corpses lie stretched where we have slain, people will 
see them and cry, 'National justice has passed this 
way. 

After this moving speech the crowd marched to the 
Hotel de Ville. There stood Maillard. At a sign 
from him, Theroigne, rallying her feminine battalion, 
started for Versailles. She was at the head of some 
two or three thousand citoyennes, as well as three or 
four hundred good patriots. On the road they danced, 
they sang, they joked, they cried " Vive la Nation ! " 
and "Vive Mericourt ! " Thus in due course they 
reached Versailles. . . . ! 

But Theroigne, in her *' Confessions," tells a very 
different story. How could she march with the women 
to Versailles, when she was already there ? It was 
stupid, she thought, of people to make such statements. 
She had been staying near the palace the whole summer, 
and on the evening of October 5th she had seen 
the draggled procession of the women arrive. They 
had started at sunrise from Paris, every woman met 
with on the way being urged into the ranks, which 
grew and swelled as each mile passed. At first they j 
shouldered high their improvised arms and grumbled ™ 
loudly at starvation. But after trudging weary miles 
they had no breath left to cry for bread. Rain and 
mud, hunger and fatigue, sobered the most eager 
amongst them — at least until there was a chance of 
practical gain by shouting. Market-women and fish- 
wives, kitchen wenches, thieves, slatterns, and worse, 



The Patriot 93 

the scum and rabble of the female population of Paris, 
" ten thousand Judiths," nearing their journey's end 
started clamouring anew for food, cried " Vive le Roi ! " 
and sang " Henri IV." and patriotic songs in tuneless 
voices. 

Maillard had done his work well. He had brought 
a straggling mob of despairing women within range 
of royalty and legislation. He took some into the 
Assembly House, where it was arranged that a depu- 
tation should go to the King. Louis XVI. had 
been brought back hastily from hunting, and, gazing 
from the palace windows, saw that strange doings were 
afoot. 

Mounier agreed to lead the women into the 
royal presence, and insisted on a calm and dignified 
diplomacy. It was no light task he undertook, as 
appears from his own account : " The women crowded 
round me," he writes, " declaring that they wanted 
to accompany me to the King's palace. I had much 
trouble to make them understand that only six would 
be able to see the King, but that did not prevent a 
large number from swelling the procession. 

r *' We were on foot, in the mud, with a heavy rain 
falling. A considerable crowd of the inhabitants of 
Versailles lined both sides of the avenue which led to the 
chateau. The women of Paris formed various groups, 
mixed with a certain number of men, for the most part 
dressed in rags and tatters, their appearance ferocious 
and their gestures menacing. They were armed with 
muskets, old pikes, hatchets, iron sticks, and large 
poles. ... A party of armed men approached us to 
escort the deputation. The strange and numerous 



94 A Woman of the Revolution 

cortege by which the deputies were assailed was taken 
for a riotous mob ; the Garde du Corps rushed at us 
and dispersed us in the mud. . . . We rallied and 
thus advanced to the chateau. We found ranged on the 
square the Garde du Corps, a detachment of dragoons, 
the Regiment of Flanders, the Swiss Guards, the 
Invalides, and the militia of Versailles. We were 
recognised and received with honour. We crossed 
between the lines and had great difficulty to prevent 
the crowd from following us. In place of the six 
women to whom I had promised an entry into the 
palace, I had to admit a dozen." 

Before the palace stretched the wide Place d' Armes, 
guarded all along the gilded railings. Through the 
three avenues which diverge into the Place the scum 
of the crowd frothed and bubbled. The women 
tempted the soldiers with pence and caresses. They 
acted with the coarsest motives and stirred up wicked 
passions. Corruption was at work. 

Within the palace council followed council. The King 
received the deputation gracefully ; the Queen, so near 
to danger, so unaware of bodily peril, used her quick 
brain to think of some way out. What was it to be ? 
Flight .? Retirement to a neighbouring town perhaps ? 
At one time the order was given that horses should be 
harnessed. How to escape from the clamouring mob 
outside ! The rain had ceased, but clouds still rolling 
up merged into the darkness of early evening. From 
the palace windows the shining wet stones of the court- 
yard looked uninviting, and beyond the railing, out 
there in the road, the wild beasts clamoured for their 
prey. One bright spot remained in all that gloom. 



The Patriot 9S 

Lafayette was marching from Paris with his men. The 
troops still stood at guard, their lines unbroken. 
Would they have to be withdrawn before he joined 
them ? On that point the issue of the day might hang. 
"" The main body of women had sought shelter from 
the downpour anywhere in the neighbourhood of the 
palace. As it cleared some came forth again and the 
crowd increased ; the murmuring and jostling grew 
ever more pronounced. Theroigne, who had spent the 
afternoon at the sitting of the National Assembly, had 
come out at five o'clock to see the crowd of women, 
and moved, alert and eager, from group to group, 
questioning, expostulating, praising their courage, and 
aching with sympathy for their suffering. Her mother- 
heart was full of love for them — such mother-love as 
since her babe had died had had no other outlet. She 
gave it to the people there and then. 
^^ She had left the Assembly Hall before the deputies 
separated, and her friend Petion, meeting her later, 
offered to take her home out of the rain and the mud 
and away from the sights of misery. But she refused. 
She preferred to see what was going on. '' I went 
with him," she says in her "Confessions," "to the corner 
of my street, where he left me. I pushed my way 
through as far as the barrier. There I saw on one 
hand the Regiment of Flanders, on the other the Body- 
guard and the people armed with guns. Pushing my 
way along, I met three or four unfortunates who were 
weeping. They said to me that they had not had a 
mouthful of bread for three days. I took them near 
to my lodgings and fetched bread from there which 
I divided amongst them." 



96 A Woman of the Revolution 

It was this act which led to her undoing. She wasi 
accused of bestowing not only bread, but money, and! 
that for the purpose of corrupting the soldiers. 

" Already Pallas Athene (in the shape of Demoiselle 
Theroigne)," says Carlyle, " is busy with Flandre and 
the dismounted Dragoons. She, and such women as 
are fittest, go through the ranks ; speak with an earnest 
jocosity ; clasp rough troopers to their patriot bosom, 
crush down spontoons and musketoons with soft arms : 
can a man, that were worthy of the name of man, 
attack famishing patriot women? " 

Carlyle gave no credence to the oft-repeated story 
that Theroigne distributed money as well as bread. 
^' Money she had not," he says, " but brown locks, the 
figure of a heathen goddess, and an eloquent tongue 
and heart." 

Michelet writes of the soldiers of Flanders, who 
were asked not to fire : " Women had cast themselves 
amongst them, entreating them not to hurt the people. 
A woman then appeared . . . who seemed not to have 
walked in the mire with the others, but had doubtless 
arrived later " — he is one of the few historians who 
are correct in not making Theroigne lead the women 
to Versailles. " She threw herself at once among the 
soldiers," this handsome young woman, " a native of 
Liege, lively and passionate . . . interesting, original, 
and strange, with her riding-habit and hat, and a sabre 
by her side, speaking and confounding equally French 
and the patois of Liege, and yet eloquent. She was 
laughable, yet irresistible. Theroigne, impetuous, 
charming, and terrible, was insensible to every obstacle. 
She had had amours ; but now she felt but one passion 



The Patriot 97 

(one violent and mortal passion), which cost her more 
than life : her love for the Revolution. She followed 
it with enthusiasm." 

\ Michelet says that Th^roigne, having addressed the 
Regiment of Flanders, gained the men over and dis- 
armed them so completely that they gave away their 
cartridges like brothers to the National Guard of 
Versailles. She would have been the first to laugh 
heartily had she heard of this tribute to her powers. It 
was also said of her that she spoke to the sentinel near 
the Orangery Gate and asked him to close it ; whether 
to keep the mob from going in or royalty from coming 
out (since there was talk of flight), history says not. 

Some of the women had taken shelter in the 
guard-house of the Regiment of Flanders, but the 
largest number poured into the Salle des Menus to 
rejoin their friends who had remained with Maillard. 
The galleries were a forest of pikes and iron clubs. The 
women grew more and more turbulent, the men rather 
more quiet and subdued. A determined lady of the 
gutter seized the presidential chair. Others equally 
determined sprawled over the benches of the deputies, 
ousting their rightful occupants. They shouted, sang, 
and gesticulated, giving unsolicited embraces to all they 
fancied, and scorning those they disliked. 

The women of the deputation, returning from the 
palace, had a story of gracious promises to tell. At 
their head was a charming spokeswoman, Louison 
Chabray, slim and fair, who had had the supreme 
honour of feeling the King's touch upon her arm. 
But all their enthusiasm was discredited. The mob 
jeered at their optimism, and threatened them with 



9 8 A Woman of the Revolution 

physical violence. They escaped with some difficulty 
and returned to do their work again and bring back an 
undertaking in writing. 

When at length Mounier came back into the As- 
sembly Hall, bread was brought in, and the hungry 
crowd ate and grew good-humoured. '* Let us hear 
our darling mother Mirabeau," cried the eager women. 
But Mirabeau refused to speak more than a word, 
and that was to chide them for interrupting the 
deputies. 

Hour after hour the women sat in the house, feed- 
ing when they could get food, talking amongst them- 
selves, some singing, some snoring. The drone of 
the speakers continued. Theroigne had long since 
gone home. " I did not leave my rooms again," she 
says, *' although I knew that they had convoked the 
deputies for a night sitting." 

^ All that evening there was danger of rioting, and 
the royalist troops were withdrawn within the palace 
grounds. At midnight Lafayette arrived at Versailles 
with twenty thousand National Guards. Now at last 
an air of security was established, and the Court feared 
the rebellious people no longer. There was darkness 
and comparative quiet in the palace, and the Queen 
slept. But the wakeful deputies continued discussing 
and confabulating in the National Assembly, still sur- 
rounded by unwashed women in soaking rags, who 
occupied the seats usually reserved for beauty of 
the highest rank, richly apparelled. And Theroigne 
slept too, or says she slept. On the truth of 
her statement a great deal depended. She was 
accused of being one of those who broke into the 



The Patriot 99 

palace in the early dawn. It is difficult to believe that 
she slumbered through the sitting of the National 
Assembly, because she never missed the meetings if 
she could help it, and this was an important one. 

She had taken lodgings at Versailles for the sole 
purpose of being present at them all. But if she had 
owned to wakefulness it would have been difficult to 
prove her innocence. 

The Queen had rested perhaps three hours when an 
unexpected noise aroused her. She heard cries, and a 
curse coupled with her name. The crowds were 
breaking into the palace. She heard the snapping of 
bars, the crash of doors breaking inwards, the feet 
of the rebels in the passage. It was growing light, 
and she fled from her apartments for her life. 

Theroigne swears in her "Confessions" that she knew 
nothing of this attempt on the Queen's safety. At 
the time she was hastening back to the National 
Assembly. At six o'clock the doors were not yet 
opened. The National Guard was on duty before 
the palace, and she saw a huge crowd assembled. 
V " I moved about amongst the groups of people," 
she declares, " in order to overhear what was being 
said. They spoke about the aristocrats, and I joined 
in and spoke no good of them. Then I attempted 
to glide in among the ranks of the National Guard, 
attracted by the clamouring of the people as they were 
fighting with the Bodyguard. But I could not see 
what was going on distinctly. 

" At last the Assembly opened its doors. I went to 
my usual seat in Tribune No. 6. The Hall was almost 
empty. Only a few of the deputies of the noblesse were 



loo A Woman of the Revolution 

present. Under the circumstances they demanded that 
the National Assembly should be transported to the 
Hercules Gallery in the palace. It seemed to me and 
to all those present in our tribune that a removal of the 
representatives would wound and violate the decrees of 
the National Assembly. We made strenuous opposi- 
tion to this. All thought it would be better if a 
numerous deputation was sent to the King. This 
was agreed upon." 

In the courtyard a group of armed men and women 
surrounded a squad of the National Guard and made 
them fire on the King's men. Two of the Bodyguard 
were seized and their heads cut off and impaled on 
pikes. Lafayette, ever on the alert, ordered the 
National Guard to fire, and averted further bloodshed. 

The mob roared " Bring the King to Paris." Louis 
showed himself on the balcony. Marie-Antoinette 
came too, pale and dignified. She held the hands of 
Madame Royale and the child Dauphin, but the people 
cried " No children, no children," and they were sent 
in again. It is all so well known ; it was all so tragic. 
As she stood there a man in the crowd levelled his 
musket as though to fire on the Queen. She did not 
flinch, and Lafayette stooping to kiss her hand put an 
end to hostile demonstration. 

By one o'clock the King had promised to leave 
Versailles. At this news men and women danced 
together with a new sense of fraternity. Holding 
hands they sang and splashed in the last night's mud. 
It was a masquerade of death and hunger and captivity. 
Whither were they about to drag the royal family ? 
A start was made towards the capital. The people, 



The Patriot loi 

having captured the baker, the baker's wife, and the 
baker's boy, were temporarily content. They marched 
on foot, they rode in carts, the women bestrode the 
cannon. The heads of the slain soldiers, raised on 
pikes, were an emblem of their triumph, and on the 
route a halt was made at the hairdressers' shop to 
have the hair powdered, curled, and daubed with 
cream. Women carried loaves on pikes or branches of 
trees. Many who marched that day were to remem- 
ber it till they died. 

The King was in the capital, the legislative body 
followed and took up its position in the riding-school. 
Theroigne was to be found near her source of inspira- 
tion. But the debt she incurred on those October 
days was still to be paid. On August 6th, 1790, a 
warrant was issued by the Chatelet for her arrest. Re- 
ferring to this she wrote to Perregaux on August 26th, 
from Li6ge : "I have been very astonished to learn 
this news. Was it to be expected that having taken 
no part in all that was said or done on the days of the 
5th and 6th, I should be accused of complicity in the 
supposed conspiracy? ... As I am unable to judge 
how far the malignity of those who have denounced 
me has gone, if you wish to do me a service it will be 
well for you to learn as much as you can of the crimes 
of which I am accused. If they are serious I shall 
have to defend myself, and to do this I should have to 
utter nothing but the simple truth." 

There was very little definite evidence against her. 
The Chatelet began the inquiry into the events of 
October in the following December. By July 1790 it 
was completed. As many as four hundred depositions 



I02 A Woman of the Revolution 

were included in the printed report, and of these only 
two or three contained a reference to Theroigne. One 
man deposed to having seen a lady he believed was 
Mile Therouene de Montesurt (sic) on the morning 
of the 6th, amongst the " brigands " who came from 
Paris to Versailles, dressed as a man, with a tall gentle- 
man dressed as a woman. A cure of the name of 
Fran9ois-Xavier Veytard declared that on the evening 
of the 5th, when the Regiment of Flanders was drawn 
up in two lines in the Avenue of Versailles, a lady 
dressed in a red riding-habit, as far as he could judge 
of the colour in the dim evening light, went up and 
down the ranks of the soldiers, holding a basket in her 
hand, from which the soldiers took small packets and 
soon afterwards withdrew to their barracks. He 
understood that this woman's name was Therouenne. 
His evidence was given on March 9th, 1790. 

A priest called Tournacheau de Montveran made 
a deposition on May ist following, in which he stated 
that he was staying at an hotel in the Rue de 
rOrangerie, and, in company with several friends 
between 4 and 5 o'clock on October 5th, he noticed 
from the window several women and men disguised 
as women, amongst whom was one attired in a scarlet 
riding-habit, on horseback. She was followed by a 
jockey also dressed in red. He had been told that 
this woman, whom he had seen previously at the 
Assembly and had recognised since, was Mile 
Therouenne de Mericourt. She had approached the 
sentinel who guarded the gate near the Orangery, and 
very soon afterwards the sentinel had closed the gate. 
Every one imagined that this was done by the instruc- 



The Patriot 103 

tions of the said Therouenne, who thereupon, followed 
by the same women, went off through the Rue de la 
Surintendance. 

There was also a Mile Gauthier who, looking from 
a window in the Rue de I'Orangerie, saw a woman who 
was so tall that she thought it must be a man, and 
this person was accompanied by a woman of ordinary 
figure on horseback, dressed in a riding-habit, who 
dismounted and spoke to the sentinel at the gate of 
the Orangery. 

When questioned about the closing of this gate, 
Th^roigne admitted that she might have spoken to 
the sentinel, but that when she did so the gate was 
shut, and consequently she could not have been 
responsible for giving an order. Nor would any 
soldier of the Bodyguard have obeyed her instructions, 
for she was not known to them. 

The accounts vary so much, and are so vague, that 
very little weight can be attached to them. Veytard, 
who said he saw Theroigne distributing small parcels 
out of a basket, made the value of such evidence 
dubious by declaring that it was not light enough to 
distinguish whether she was wearing a scarlet riding- 
habit. When questioned as to the colour of this 
garment, Theroigne acknowledged that she possessed 
such a costume, as well as a similar one in white and 
in black, but that she could not remember what she 
wore on that particular day. She treated with con- 
tempt the statements of the witness who declared 
she was on horseback. ** If any one can prove that 
I was riding," she answered boldly, when faced by 
this accusation, " I consent to any punishment they 



I04 A Woman of the Revolution 

may care to inflict." She deliberately denied having 
seen any woman moving about among the soldiers 
of the Regiment of Flanders for the purpose of inciting 
them to break rank and revolt. In her opinion the 
regiment had remained calm and ranged in battle 
order. 

Apart from the witnesses who had named Th6roigne 
more or less accurately, there were several who de- 
scribed her without mentioning her name. A certain 
Cornier de la Dodini^re said he saw a woman dressed 
in a scarlet riding-dress and round hat passing from 
group to group and speaking to many people. The 
next day an officer of the National Guard of Paris, 
meeting him in a cafe, had said to him that he could 
not forget the charming appearance of a woman 
dressed all in red whom he had seen haranguing and 
exciting his men to go to the National Assembly 
and to seize some captives there, whose names she 
mentioned, and that she had gone so far as to address 
the superior officer at the head of the battalion, who 
had given instructions that she was to be chased away. 

Another soldier, of the name of Saint-Gobert, a 
lieutenant of Volunteer Chasseurs, described a young 
and pretty woman whom he had noticed in the ranks, 
dressed in a riding-habit, wearing a hat with black 
plumes, who spoke to the volunteers of his company, 
and that this -lady said to him and to his comrades 
that they were to go to the National Assembly, and 
that she would then indicate the real enemies of the 
nation. He had begged the lady to withdraw, and 
not to cause disorder in the ranks, but, not succeeding 
in making her take her departure, he had fetched the 




THEROIGNE DE MKRICOURT. 

From the drawing by Raffet. 



IC5 



The Patriot 107 

captain, who, when he arrived, expressed his wish that 
the lady would go away without delay. She had at 
last submitted to his repeated commands, but un- 
willingly, remarking scornfully as she went that she 
had believed she was appealing to good citizens. 

Whatever proofs may be put forward to clear 
Thdroigne's name of all imputations of evil-doing, 
this account is remarkably characteristic of her methods. 
It may or may not have been she, but it sounds exactly 
like her. 

La Valette in his accusation said that, during the 
riots at Versailles, Theroigne, dressed like a man, 
had mingled with the crowd and distributed bread. 
At her orders, he declared, the gates of the Orangery 
had been closed to hinder the people from entering 
the palace grounds. When she was captive, and they 
were driving towards Coblenz, he tried to sound her 
on these points, and said to her ; " Mademoiselle, 1 
still seem to see you leading the market-women to 
Versailles. It was an imposing sight. And you at 
their head on horseback, you looked " 

But she interrupted him. " I ? There you make 
a great mistake, monsieur. I was not in that famous 
procession at all. I was not living in Paris at that 
time. I stayed at Versailles the whole of the summer 
of 1789." 

He apologised for his error. He said he must have 
seen her in the streets of Versailles. 

*' I did what others did," she answered, " neither 
more nor less. I wanted to watch the mob arrive 
from Paris." 

" But in the evening you entered the palace " 

7 



loB A Woman of the Revolution 

'* No, monsieur. I did not go into the palace, nor 
even into the palace grounds. The Bodyguard refused 
admittance to any one. I only went as far as the 
park railings. The gates were all shut." 

When asked why the crowd had massacred two of 
the guard, she said she thought that the soldiers were 
themselves to blame for this horrible catastrophe. 
The people regarded them as inveterate partisans of 
the court. Irritated by the sullen and equivocal 
conduct of the aristocracy, they wished to give weight 
to their demands by showing activity. It was greatly 
to be regretted that they should have resorted to 
murderous violence. But at that moment it was 
perhaps inevitable that it should have happened, for 
it was necessary to use force to obtain liberty from 
despotism. If royalty had voluntarily acceded to the 
more than legitimate claims of the people, who had 
been reduced to slavery for long enough, if the clergy 
and the nobility had freely renounced feudal rights, 
there would have been neither licence nor spilt blood. 
" Misery begets misery," she cried, '' crime begets 
crime." The peasant who is born into the world has 
no other heritage than the ill-treatment of his lord. 
More than this she refused to admit to her captor. 
It was the parrot-like cry of the people, which she 
had had a thousand opportunities of hearing. '* In 
my eyes," she continued, " aristocracy, however 
illustrious its origin, is of no more importance than 
the lowest of the middle classes, or the most obscure 
but honest peasant. All these titles and dignities are 
often but a cloak for worthlessness. . . . Hereditary 
nobility is a ridiculous anomaly. It is high time to 



The Patriot 109 

open the eyes of the people, who are purposely kept 
sunk in brutishness. The peasant is obliged to work 
and to moisten with his sweat the land which belongs 
to another, whilst the other declares that he has a 
right to exact this toil. The lord of the land illtreats 
his subjects. He demands from them a blind 
obedience, and inflicts tortures worse than death. The 
revenues obtained from the soil do not belong to 
those who cultivate it, and the fruit of their rough 
toil is foolishly dissipated by the capitalists. They 
scatter and waste enormous sums in gambling and 
other vices." 

These remarks aroused her hearer. In a passion he 
enquired how she dared to speak of the aristocracy 
with such disdain, " Every one is free to dispose of 
his goods as he may wish, mademoiselle," he cried 
angrily. 

" I do not deny it," she replied, " but it is none 
the less true that it is the result of flagrant injustice 
that a small portion of society is gorged with wealth 
whilst thousands, nay, millions of brave people are 
living a life of misery — to die a death by starvation. 
What has the Government done to remedy this fearful 
state of things. Nothing ! Absolutely nothing ! 
Ought the people to consent to sufl^er for ever and to 
want necessities when so many aristocrats have super- 
fluities, and plunge into the grossest of pleasures ! 
Never ! It is just and necessary to expel all these 
sluggards and idlers. They are useless ; nay, worse, 
they are harmful. ..." 

The Comte de la Valette trembled with passion. 
She had touched on a weak spot, his aristocratic pride. 



no A Woman of the Revolution 

He thought that her words were meant specially to 
humiliate him. He cried out that she lied, that there 
was not a word of truth in all she had said. 
''She replied boldly that, on the contrary, she had 
spoken nothing but the truth. The abuses which she 
had described must end. The country would never 
know happiness until it was delivered from the crushing 
privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the nobility. It 
was necessary that all should enjoy freedom as well as 
the bread to which they were entitled. Then she 
began to discuss the Rights of Man. 

La Valette refused to listen to her any longer. At 
that moment the carriage in which they were travelling 
gave a jolt, and almost overturned. The Count, 
mastered by his ill-temper, jumped out, and, snatching 
the whip, beat the driver soundly for his clumsiness. 
Theroigne begged him to desist in the name of all 
that was human. Her prayers only augmented the 
fury of the blows. He ceased when the handle of 
the whip smashed in his hand, and throwing away the 
pieces, he cried, " So much for the Rights of Man," 

Theroigne was silent. She was weeping bitterly. 



CHAPTER III 

THEROIGNE'S CLUB 

THE French have always been gregarious and 
communicative. They have always loved to 
discuss their interests, and to express in words their 
fears and agitations, as well as their rejoicing and 
admiration. This national trait was remarkably notice- 
able throughout the eighteenth century. It was the 
age of opinion. The thinkers of the day emulated 
one another in making public their ideas. An irre- 
sistible impulse to teach, to lead, to convert, or at 
least to state probabilities and possibilities, began some- 
where near the close of Louis XIV.'s reign — that is 
to say, in the youth of Voltaire and Rousseau — and 
increased slowly throughout the Regency, more quickly 
in the second half of Louis XV. 's reign, whilst in the 
seventies and eighties the impulse became uncontrol- 
lable. To speak one must have an audience, and to 
gather an audience one must have a meeting-place. In 
the early part of the century people met at the cafes 
and in the salons to air their views and imbibe the 
new philosophical ideas that were spreading rapidly 
through the country. No sooner was there a whisper 
of revolt than these places became inadequate to hold 
the masses who wished to utter volumes of complaints 
and to formulate plans for the amelioration of con- 

III 



112 A Woman of the Revolution 

ditions. A new outlet had to be found for them, and 
was found in the shape of political clubs. At first 
these were few and held in secret, but after the open- 
ing of the States General they multiplied in numbers, 
subdivided and re-formed until they became a recognised 
institution of revolutionary France. They were the 
best medium for an interchange of ideas, and they 
issued pamphlets and journals in a never-ceasing, ever- 
increasing stream. 

One of the most important was first formed by a 
small section of the deputies of Brittany, and was 
called the Breton Club. Although its members were 
full of the new ideas which were spreading everywhere 
they did not in any way hold extreme views at this 
time. They were frankly royalists. But as time 
passed a new tone entered into the debates. On June 
9th, 1789, Boulle wrote of the society: "For some 
days our salon has been the rendezvous of all good 
citizens." Meetings were then taking place every 
evening. As most of the members were in the 
National Assembly, the meeting-house of the club was 
at Versailles, but in October it naturally followed the 
Court and legislative body to Paris, and was presently 
installed in the Convent of the Dominicans or Jacobins 
in the Rue Saint-Honore. Although the official 
name of the club was changed in February 1790 to 
the Societe des Amis de la Constitution, it was soon to 
be known far better by the title of the Jacobins Club, 
and under that famous name became a political force. 

The great difference between this society and other 
political clubs, such as had already been known in 
England for a century and a half, was its system of 



Theroigne*s Club 113 

affiliation. The number of members had grown so 
rapidly, the ideas disseminated by the club's adherents 
were so popular, and its endeavour to reach Frenchmen 
— and even Frenchwomen — in every part of the country 
so insistent, that it was decided to form a nucleus in 
each town of people who held the same ideas, and had 
similar aims to those who had easy access to the 
mother-society in Paris. Thus was born a mighty 
organism, spreading its tentacles throughout France. 
As was to be foreseen, with the growth of revolutionary 
ideas, the opinions with which the club had begun its 
sittings evolved on similar lines, the strength of the 
extreme Left becoming ever more and more a pre- 
dominating factor. 

There is no room in a volume which purports to 
be a biography to tell the history of the clubs. The 
ramifications of the old ones, the forming of new and 
ever more daring ones, the gradual change of thought 
from monarchism to republicanism would fill volumes 
of their own. But because one aspect, and an im- 
portant aspect, of Theroigne's revolutionary career 
was closely bound up with the clubs — she frequented 
them, she did her utmost to be elected a member of 
one of the most important, and she helped to organise 
one of her own — some digression on the subject of 
clubs is necessary. Her interest in them led her to 
study them carefully and to endeavour to grasp and 
explain the changes in Paris life which had been brought 
about by the great upheaval, one of the most notice- 
able being connected with this very question of the 
growth of the political societies. It is a bafiling point 
in the character of Theroigne that, considering her 



114 A Woman of the Revolution 

irregular youth and upbringing, she should not merely 
have turned to the exciting and stimulating side ot 
the people's fight for freedom, but preferred to throw 
her whole heart into her desire to understand the 
causes of their wretchedness and the serious questions 
involved in attempting to obtain a better state of 
affairs. She must have been possessed of powers of 
reasoning and observation superior to those usually 
bestowed upon women who are content with a liveli- 
hood so precariously obtained as hers had been. 

But Theroigne was a law unto herself, and must not 
be judged by the standards applied to other women 
of her class. When she studied the matter of clubs 
she found that they were springing up around her 
like mushrooms. The first one in Paris which was 
really worthy of the name had been opened in 
April 1782, by Boyer, in the Rue Sainte-Nicaise. It 
was called the Club Frangais. Three years later the 
Due d'Orleans, who admired everything English and 
American, opened a Club de Boston. But it was not 
till the outbreak of the Revolution that the real 
utility of club life became apparent, and the idea 
spread so quickly that there were soon several hun- 
dreds in Paris. 

The most advanced club of all was the Club des 
Cordeliers, run by Danton, Camille Desmoulins, 
and Marat. The Club de 1789, installed near the 
Palais Royal, revelling in dinners under the auspices 
of Sieyes, Lafayette, Bailly, and Mirabeau, was turned 
into the Club de la Constitution Monarchique, its 
members being friends to despotism under the mask 
of moderation, and later it became the Feuillants. 



Th^roigne's Club 115 

The motto of the Club des Impartiaux was " Justice, 
Truth, and Constancy." The Cercle Social had a 
branch society, named the Confederation Universelle 
des Amis de la V6rite, and there were numerous 
others of importance, all with views more or less 
advanced, because clubs with moderate ideas had but 
little hold on the popular imagination. 

\ So enormous was the influence wielded by these 
ever-spreading organisations, that the legislative body 
began to see a danger to the peace of the country in 
their continued growth, and in 1791 adopted certain 
propositions limiting their powers, which were chiefly 
exercised in two directions. They had the right to 
petition, and used it by presenting to the Assembly 
addresses which were in reality orders in the disguise 
of requests, and they had the right to stick bills in 
public places. This made it possible for them to 
placard Paris over at any moment with declarations 
which, being assimilated speedily by the man in the 
street, evoked a chorus of similar opinion throughout 
the breadth of the country. These privileges were 
to be curtailed, and for that purpose the assembly 
drew up certain clauses, declaring that no society, 
club, or association of citizens could have any 
recognised political existence, could exercise the 
slightest influence over the acts of constituted powers 
and legal authorities, nor appear under any pretext 
collectively to present petitions or form deputations, 
or to assist at public ceremonies under various 
penalties. A decree to this eff^ect was adopted on 
September 29th, but in practice it very soon proved 
inefBcacious. 



II 6 A Woman of the Revolution 

* As well dam a flood with shifting sand. By that 
date the clubs had become an ungovernable, an 
incalculable force, and no legislative means could 
stop their clamour. The journals alone which poured 
from their presses were capable of swaying public 
thought. Their discussions and articles filtered 
through their own institutions to the more general 
if less highly organised groups which met in the 
salons, the cafes, the restaurants, the booksellers', 
and libraries, to the wine-shops, and the gatherings at 
street-corners and in the public gardens. All these were 
centres of commotion. The cafes, which for the past 
fifty years had been the resort of men of letters, wits, 
dramatic critics, lawyers, and artists, intent on discuss- 
ing the latest achievements in their own particular 
profession, were now used as places where the political 
measures of the day were brought up for debate, and 
where the latest news from the Assembly could be 
gleaned at all hours. The Cafe Hottot on the Terrace 
of the Feuillants and almost at the doors of the 
Assembly Hall, and the Cafe de Foy, at first patriotic, 
and then monarchic, were two of the most important. 
The latter in its second stage was the refuge for aristo- 
cratic disputants. Knights of Saint Louis, soldiers, and 
financiers, with huge wigs and square-toed shoes, 
armed with cudgels, sword-sticks, and canes weighted 
with lead, who read nothing but monarchical pro- 
positions, uncovered their heads whenever royalty was 
mentioned, and played dominoes to while away the 
time when waiting for news. The Cafe Procope, once 
of theatrical fame, had to change its style, and was held 
in suspicion by all good partisans of the Revolution. 



Th^roigne*s Club 117 

Unless a cafe took a political tone the people had no 
use for it, as was proved by the speedy passing away of 
the Cafe Flore, whose habitues were bound by a vow 
not to mention affairs of government. The Cafe de la 
Justice was frequented chiefly by excited legal lights, 
the Cafe de la R^publique by patriots who were keen 
on being informed in the speediest and most reliable 
manner of what was going on. The Cafe de Valois 
was another rendezvous of royalists — Rivarol, for in- 
stance, Champcenetz, who wrote a satiric letter about 
Theroigne, and Peltier, who was one of the fairest- 
minded of her opponents. In May 1790 this cafe, 
which had originally been founded by Abbe Si^yes 
under the auspices of the Due d'Orleans, became such 
a hot-bed of aristocracy that the patriots made a descent 
upon it and cleansed the Augean stables with fumes 
of gin. 

^. Booksellers' shops were found convenient for the 
sale of royalist and counter-revolutionary journals, 
brochures, libels, pamphlets, and printed questions of 
the order of the day. They were sold openly and 
secretly. Sometimes there were printing-presses on 
the premises, issuing and manifolding publications of 
a seditious nature without place or date or name. 
One of the most notorious monarchical booksellers was 
Gattey, whose business was in the Palais Royal. He 
was said to be a police spy, and his shop was invaded 
more than once, his stock burned, and the place " dis- 
infected of the breath of bad citizens " by fumigations 
of vinegar and sugar. A complete edition of the 
Actes des Apotres was sacrificed at one of these holo- 
causts, and at length Gattey found it too dangerous 



ii8 A Woman of the Revolution 

to sell this scurrilous royalist paper and announced 
that he would take no further part in its publication 
and distribution. 

The editors and chief contributors, Peltier, Rivarol, 
Champcenetz, Mirabeau, Tonneau, and Suleau — The- 
roigne knew them well by name, and hated them 
well — usually held their meetings at the house of the 
Marquise de Champbonas. The paper was discussed 
and made up at the Restaurateur Beauvilliers, near to 
Gattey's shop, where dzners evangeliques were held to 
which only the initiated were admitted. The apostles 
took copious notes of the conversation and dished it 
up in spicy insults addressed against the patriots. 

Theroigne was as frequently the subject of their 
coarse jests as any one. The attacks on her make 
astonishing reading. By what virtue — or vice — did 
she become the butt of fifty satirical publications } 
Why was she chosen especially to be pilloried in a 
hundred ways, as patriot, Amazon, orator, and mis- 
tress ? She had splendid enemies — the aristocrats — 
and there must have been something remarkable about 
her to have kept her so persistently an object of their 
spite. It was said that she was driven to madness 
by their satires and caricatures, and the Petit Gauthier 
described a raid she made on her own account upon 
one of the places where these libels were on sale. 
"The brazen-faced Theroigne," it wrote, "after walk- 
ing the day before yesterday in the Camp des Tartares, 
in the Palais Royal, entered a shop where caricatures 
were sold, and had the effrontery to say to the dealer 
in them, that if she continued to display those which 
ridiculed other people besides the executive powers, 



Theroigne's Club 119 

the nobility and the clergy, she would come, accom- 
panied by some patriots, and tear them up." The 
saleswoman threatened the "ci-devant pucelle " with a 
burning torch, causing her to flee and leave one of 
her shoes behind her in her haste. 

\Besides the Petit Gauthier^ otherwise called the 
Journal de la Cour et de la Ville^ and the Actes des 
Apotres^ her chief calumniators, the Sahhats Jacobites^ 
which brought into fashion the word " canaillocratie," 
and the Apocalypse were among the worst offenders. 
The standing joke referred to by them was her sup- 
posed marriage with the Deputy Populus, i.e. the 
People. Of this bon mot they never seemed to tire. 
It was turned this way and that way and exploited 
for all and more than it was worth. A play on the 
subject ran through many numbers of the Actes des 
Apotres^ and was eventually published separately in 
1790 under the title of " Theroigne et Populus, ou le 
triomphe de la democratic, drame national en vers 
civiques." ^ Attached was a " Precis sur la vie de Made- 
moiselle T6roigne de Mericour," in which her supposed 
lover is described in satirical terms. Beaulieu asserts 
that she had never met the deputy for Bourg-en-Bresse, 
who was at this time aged about fifty-five. " Although 
Populus," remarks the writer, describing the real man, 
" is only four feet seven inches and three lines tall, 
he possesses that agreeable sloping curve of the 
shoulders which denotes profundity of thought, multi- 
plicity of studies, and the habits of meditation. More- 
over, although he is between thirty and sixty-five 
years old, he does not wear the dissipated air which 

See Appendix A 



I20 A Woman of the Revolution 

distinguishes many young Frenchmen. His hair, of 
the most beautiful dappled grey, arranged in curls 
and plastered down behind his ears, suits his face 
remarkably well, giving it more breadth and im- 
portance ; and behind it is fastened tightly in a net 
and bobs about on his shoulders, giving the impres- 
sion of the august and majestic character of one who 
represents the nation. Never has any deputy had 
more the air of a deputy than this honourable 
deputy." 

Naturally enough the form in which the satires were 
couched was one that had especial power to wound. 
Theroigne was not the only one subjected to the 
drastic wit of the royalists. Monarchism in the press 
never ceased to aim poisoned darts at the people, and 
ironic raillery, lies, and calumny fanned the flame of 
hatred and gave rise to insurrectionary outbursts. In 
many respects the journals have small historical value, 
and throw little light on the course of events. It is 
enough to say that the obscene diatribes of the aristo- 
crats denote a significant lack of dignity unpardonable 
in the governing class. 

The Revolutionary journals, on the other hand, were 
distinguished by an earnest belief in the justice of their 
cause. Whilst the royalists were content to jest 
coarsely in and out of season, Desmoulins, Brissot, 
and Marat were voicing the call of freedom in their 
respective journals — Les Revolutions de France et de 
'Brabant^ Le Patriote^ and V Ami du Pewple. 

The clubs, the caf^s, the book-shops, with their vast 
stream of topical publications, were thus the means 
through which the new and revolutionary ideas spread 



Theroignc's Club 121 

like wildfire to the bulk of the people, indiscriminately, 
without favour or that personal and social note which 
relationship, acquaintance, or friendship gives. Yet 
this element existed and must not be undervalued. 
It was to be found chiefly among the feminine gather- 
ings in the semi-privacy of the salons. Those of the 
capital had changed in tendency at the first signs of the 
struggle between the classes and the masses. Philoso- 
phy, reform, and revolution formed the new keynotes 
of intercourse ; charm, culture, literature, and learning — 
all the graces of the old regime, in short — were relegated 
to the background. Earnestness superseded gaiety, 
discussion took the place of chat and gossip, and 
personal ambition pushed aside social intimacy. Some 
of the gatherings were turned into conferences *' like 
tragedies without women," some were political whirl- 
pools of rage and ferment, some were training-schools 
for orators and pamphlet-writers, and again others were 
not unlike forcing-houses where guests were to be 
converted with the least possible delay to a belief in the 
"illusion of the happiness of humanity." All of them 
without exception were touched by the dread shadow 
of coming trouble and were enshrouded in the dark 
cloud of suspense. 

In Mme Necker's salon friends of the ministers 
assembled, and she tried to win from the Abbe Si6y^s 
and Clermont-Tonnerre the good opinion of the 
National Assembly for her husband. Mme de Stael's 
social-political activity dated from 1786. Mme de 
Simiane and Mme de Coigny's receptions were at their 
height. Mme de Tess6 opened wide her doors to 
exponents of the new ideas. The Princess von Hohen- 



122 A Woman of the Revolution 

zoUern received politicians of the Left, amongst them 
Beauharnais, Abbe Dillon, Barnave, and the Lameths. 
At Mme de Beauharnais's house Dorat, Colle, Pezay, 
and Bonnard held meetings, which were homely in 
character. The Comtesse de Genlis — Walpole referred 
to her later as the too-well-known woman who fled to 
Switzerland — entertained Brissot, Camille Desmoulins, 
and the friends of the Due d'Orleans. The Duke of 
Bedford gave balls to the Revolutionaries. The wife 
of Talma, the sprituelle Julie, gathered in the Rue 
Chantereine many guests of political importance, 
Roucher, Roland, the painter Greuze, the orator 
Vergniaud, and Marie-Joseph Chenier, who was later 
to be associated with Theroigne in the organisation of 
the fete to the soldiers of Chateauvieux. After the 
death of her husband Mme Helvetius settled in her 
country house at Auteuil with her two daughters, 
Mme de Mun and Mme d' Andlau, whom Franklin 
had rechristened " the stars." A large number of 
thinkers frequented this salon — Condorcet, the aristo- 
crat-republican, Cabanis, Mirabeau's doctor, who married 
Mme de Condorcet's sister, Volney the traveller, 
Chamfort the witty moralist, whose sallies, said Mme 
Roland, " make you laugh and think at the same 
time — a very rare occurrence." Mirabeau was his 
friend, and Sieyes profited by his ideas. " I have just 
composed a work," said Chamfort one day to de 
Lauraguais. " Oh, a book } " inquired the latter. *' No, 
not a book ; I am not so foolish. Only the title of a 
book ; but the title is everything. 1 have given it to 
Sieyes. He can say what he will ; people will remember 
nothing but the title" — which was " What is the Third 




MARC-ETIENNE POPULUS, DEPUTY FOR BOURG-EN-ERESSE. 
From an engraving in the Bibliotheque Nationale. 



123 



Theroigne's Club 125 

Estate ? Nothing. What ought it to be ? Every- 
thing." 

Morellet, having deserted the salon of Mme Helve- 
tius, commenced rival gatherings of his own on Sundays, 
at which the Suards were present. At the houses of 
Mme Lameth and Mme Dumas there were a great 
number of Montagnards, at Mme Roland's many of 
the Girondins. At Mme d' Angivillers *' all the 
Revolution " was made welcome, and, as might be 
expected, the number of her guests was not exceeded 
in any other drawing-room. She was a very fascinating 
hostess. Gouverneur Morris went there as well as to 
the Condorcets', whose house he described as the centre 
of thinking Europe, where distinguished persons from 
far and near were to be found, perhaps the most attractive 
feature being the philosopher's lively and sympathetic 
wife. This salon was presently known as the Foyer de 
la Republique, and all with monarchical tendencies 
avoided it thereafter. 

-, After these important and representative salons- — and 
there were many others — the unpretentious gatherings 
held by Theroigne in her apartments at the Hotel de 
Grenoble, Rue de Bouloi, may at first seem insignificant. 
Nothing like as powerful, they nevertheless had a great 
deal in common with the political assemblies organised 
by Mme Roland. Their aims were the same. 
Theroigne would have scorned the word " salon." She 
preferred to use the word "club." Her receptions had 
little that was social in their aspect, everything that 
was political, and it was necessary for her to minimise 
their importance as much as possible when questioned 
on the subject by the examining magistrate at Kufstein. 
8 



126 A Woman of the Revolution 

She succeeded in making it appear that the organisation 
of the club at her Hotel was one of the most harmless 
in existence. She was afraid of being implicated in 
plots and conspiracies, and denied having been con- 
nected with any revolutionary receptions. Yet nowhere 
was the purpose more definite, the labour for liberty 
more earnest and from the heart. She tells something 
of the origin of these meetings in her " Confessions." 
*' When the National Assembly was installed in Paris," 
she writes, " I followed it. I lodged at the Hotel de 
Grenoble in the Rue de Bouloi. I continued to be 
present at the sittings morning and evening. Every- 
one knew me from seeing me so often. The people 
and the deputies liked me as much on account of my 
patriotism as for my private conduct. ... I proposed 
to those who came most often to the Tribune of the 
Feuillants to join in making a political society. They 
approved of my idea. Whilst this growing club 
assembled in my house it numbered some twelve or 
thirteen members." 

The society was called the Club of the Amis de la 
Loi, but must not be confused with one of the same 
name founded in 1791 by Osselin. The chief person 
associated with Theroigne in founding the society was 
Gilbert Romme the mystic. The friendship of this 
high-minded idealist — it has been said that he was one 
of the purest characters of the Revolution — does more 
to reinstate Theroigne amongst the virtuous than the 
constant reflections of the royalist pamphlets to prove 
her abandonment. "Romme," says Michelet, "with 
the face of Socrates, had his profound understanding, 
the austere mildness of a sage, of a hero, of a martyr.' 



Th^roigne^s Club 127 

Like his brother Charles Romme, the mathematician, 
Gilbert consecrated himself to the sciences. He was 
born at Riom in 1750 and had many followers among 
his countrymen in mountainous Auvergne. He sat 
in the National Convention, was a Montagnard, helped 
to produce the republican calendar and in 1793 stabbed 
himself to cheat the guillotine. At the time of his 
association with Th^roigne he had under his charge a 
son of a Russian noble, Count StrogonoiF, familiarly 
called Otcher. This descendant of despots was 
educated by him, in the latest ideas on liberty, and 
accompanied him to the sittings of the National 
Assembly and the clubs, 

Romme was the president of Theroigne's society, 
and amongst the members were several of his country- 
men, Beaulieu, Larminat, Sponville, and Romme's 
nephew Tailhard. Otcher was made librarian. The 
meetings took place three times a week — on Tuesdays, 
Fridays, and Sundays from seven till ten in the evening. 
A month later only two meetings were held, on 
Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Theroigne did everything she could to make the 
club a success and worked hard to recruit new mem- 
bers. She proposed that her brother should join it, 
but the idea was negatived on the ostensible grounds 
that he knew very little French ; actually, it was said, 
because he had lived at his sister's expense on money 
none too honestly come by. 

When the club started Theroigne was put in charge 
of the papers and documents, but she soon handed 
over this responsibility to Chapsal. She took part in 
all the discussions, knew as much as the other members 



128 A Woman of the Revolution 

concerning the legislation of the country, and cham- 
pioned more hotly than any of them the rights of 
her sex. She thought women should be far more inde- 
pendent and rely less on the protection of men than 
they had been accustomed to do. 

\ From March loth onwards M. de Larminat pre- 
sided at the meetings, Sponville and Daguet were 
secretaries. Maret, the future Due de Bassano and de 
Bosc d' Antic, son of Louis XV.'s doctor and friend of 
Mme Roland, joined the society about this time. The 
members sought to affiliate popular committees with 
the departments. The aims of the club were written 
out by Romme ^ under the title of " Association 
Populaire." 

" The project," said Romme, " is the result of 
several conversations in which Mile Theroigne pointed 
out that it would be of great importance at this 
moment to have an establishment which made it an 
object to learn the degree and the means of influence 
possessed by each member of the National Assembly." 
This idea resulted in the formation and development 
of the society. Other plans were added and the whole 
grew into an important organisation, its purpose being 
" to give a new impulse to manners ; to educate the 
people to an understanding of the dignity of its rights ; 
to enlighten it upon its real interests and upon the 
degree of confidence and esteem that it owes to the 
zeal, the knowledge, and the virtues of its representa- 
tives in the National Assembly ; to display before it 
the advantages of the Revolution ; to spread, as far 

' MS. by Romme in the possession of M.Marcellin Pellet. "Theroigne 
de M6ricourt," p. 39. 



Th^roigne*s Club 129 

as possible, a knowledge of the daily workings of the 
Assembly ; to reawaken the patriotism which had be- 
come extinct in the souls of some who were discouraged 
or fearful ; to hold back some of the too excitable 
spirits who might be carried away by their excess 
of zeal ; to spare impatient readers the laborious and 
objectionable research among the multitude of pam- 
phlets and periodical publications with which we are 
inundated ; to offer to good citizens a choice of 
literature already prepared for their use in a reading- 
room open to associates ; to correspond with the 
provinces, to spread information concerning good 
books and fine deeds, and to gather from these sources 
fresh inspirations, new motives of encouragement ; to 
focus the scattered rays of public opinion and to dis- 
sipate the clouds, with which black, vile, and hypo- 
critical souls intentionally obscure them in order to 
alarm others ; and to direct a searching light upon the 
tribunal without censuring its decisions, in order that 
those marked by wisdom and maturity may acquire an 
impressive and redoubtable character in the eyes of 
those who would betray the public cause, but may 
inspire with confidence those who believe in the 
people's good." 

vA society with such aims should surely have been 
above reproach, even though its archivist was '* a 
woman who was fatally dangerous to the young and 
inexperienced." ^ Romme was absolutely convinced 
that the members of the Amis de la Loi were as 
blameless in their morals as they were upright in their 
opinions. Theroigne appears in an altogether new, 
^ "Romme le Montagnard," Marc de Vissac. 



130 A Woman of the Revolution 

but perhaps none the less fascinating light. It is easy 
to picture her in a quakerish gown of grey, her flam- 
boyant riding-habits laid temporarily aside, her smile 
subdued for the time, the merry twinkle of her eye 
veiled by her lashes, her forehead puckered by a little 
frown in token of her earnestness, and her brain ever 
busy with fresh plans for the furtherance of the club's 
purposes. Her ideas were carefully sifted by Romme, 
and carried out practically. The work was divided 
into various departments. There was a committee 
of annotation, whose duty it was to attend the sittings 
of the National Assembly ; a bibliographical committee, 
charged with the examination and censorship of the 
publications and documents for the perusal of the 
society ; an information bureau, which gathered in 
the news and rumours of the town, and attended 
the sittings of the Commune and of the Chatelet ; 
and an editorial department, which issued weekly 
reports of the work done by the various committees. 
Neither Romme nor Theroigne spared themselves in 
perfecting the details of this somewhat complicated 
machinery. The arrangements for the library and 
reading-room were left chiefly to the young Russian 
Count. For the sake of the number of his own 
countrymen who were members, Romme desired that 
a translation should be made of *' The Declaration of 
the Rights of Man " into the vernacular of Limagne 
d' Auvergne. 

Theroigne describes a little ceremony that took place 
at one of her meetings. " One day," she said, " I had 
the idea that it would be a good thing if the people 
gave civic crowns or cockades to the best patriots of 



Th^roigne's Club 131 

the National Assembly. A motion to this effect, 
directed by M. Romme and others, and signed by the 
people, was adopted. Seven cockades were given to 
the seven members of the Committee of the Constitu- 
tion. All the world wished to contribute to the small 
expense which this occasioned me. But by reason 
of my patriotic zeal, I did not accept. I took the 
cockades to M. I'Abbe Sieyes, whom I considered 
the most worthy of public gratitude and esteem. 
Monsieur I'Abbe came to my house in person to 
thank me." 

This account of a club, with all its dry-as-dust 
details of organisation, not differing much from many 
similar institutions, may be contrasted with an imaginary 
one — for the French have the power of caricature 
developed to a marvellous degree, and when they told 
the story of a revolutionary political gathering they 
knew how to make it humorous, even to the point 
of fantasy. Such a description was published in the 
Actes des Apotres at the beginning of 1790, and is 
worth repeating, if only because Theroigne played an 
important part in it, and figured in the accompany- 
ing illustration. The skit was entitled the *' Club de 
la Revolution," and tells a long-winded story of the 
Marquis de Condorcet, who conceived the clever plan 
of converting the Pantheon opposite the Palais Royal 
into a Temple of Liberty, and calling it the Club de la 
Revolution, or Portico of France. The opening of 
the establishment took place amidst solemn celebra- 
tions. Some five hundred members, chosen from 
amongst the most zealous defenders of the people, lent 
it brilliancy. The Abbe de Sieyes was chosen president. 



132 A Woman of the Revolution 

A like number of ladies, being the most ardent up- 
holders of the Rights of Man, were adjudged worthy 
of the privilege of being incorporated in the society, and 
Mile Theroigne de Mericourt was elected presidente 
by her concitoyennes. She was installed on the spot, 
and presented with the instrument proper and necessary 
to the rights and duties of her post. The functions 
required of her were more onerous than those expected 
of the president. The little bell usual in such cases 
was enlarged upon this occasion, and was provided with 
a handle and clapper of remarkable size. The hall was 
especially decorated, and there was dancing, four 
quadrilles serving to open the ball. 

Everybody who was anybody am.ong the revolutionists 
was present. The Due d'Aiguillon, dressed as the Queen 
of Hungary, danced the minuet with the Chevalier Malo 
de Lameth attired as the King of Prussia. In spite of 
their good disguises these two were recognised. This 
dance was followed by a contredanse, in which M. de 
Clermont Tonnerre took part, wearing an iron mask. 
M. de Champcenetz fils danced with a lady disguised 
as Venus. M. Guillotin, the political doctor, danced 
not to his own instrument of torture, but a solemn 
minuet with Mile Samson. Robespierre, disguised as 
a cherub, thought it would be better to substitute a 
tight-rope dance, but to this the grave doctor objected. 

A pas de quatre followed, performed by Mirabeau 
attired like a royal tiger, with a mask of Paris 
mud, Brissot dressed like the wandering Jew, Mme 
Olympe de Gouges disguised as a young Indienne^ and 
Mme de Condorcet masquerading as the Infanta of 
Zamora. The fandanga, the caloula, and the bamboula 



Th^roigne^s Club 133 

were danced, Talleyrand being among the many who 
took part in these fantastic steps. Next came a per- 
formance by Target, who walked the tight-rope, and 
to him Sieyes presented a colossal pyramid, which being 
reversed he was ordered to balance to the best of his 
ability on its point. This ingenious symbol repre- 
sented the Constitution, Thouret, in the garb of a 
harlequin, then sang a song entitled, " Ah ! comme 
il y viendra," and Target, in the endeavour to respond 
with " J 'ai plus que vous le poignet ferme," took a 
false step and came toppling down, pyramid and all. 

After some more turns of a similar character, Mira- 
beau, disguised in red, white, and blue, danced a 
figure representing the Constitution of England, 
which had remained unaltered for a complete century. 
Barnave was also present, and, masked in the head of 
a shark, and with his coat laced with principles, was 
intended to represent the Rights of Man. 

Much more of the same kind of satire followed, 
including a detailed description of the illustration to 
the scene, which was called the " Opening Ceremony of 
the Club de la Revolution." 

Mile Theroigne de Mericourt is here to be seen 
directing the orchestra and handling two bells which 
weighed no less than forty-four pounds each. 
Harmonious as were the musical instruments, the 
noise from the boxes on the left, rising above them, 
often made it impossible to hear oneself speak. The 
costume of Mile Theroigne is the same she wore at 
Versailles when, at the head of the national army, she 
routed a brigade of the bodyguard. Her scarlet 
riding-habit, her black plumes, her chestnut locks, were 



134 A Woman of the Revolution 

the rallying-sign. She was always to be found on the 
road taken by the routed. Mediae inter coedes exultat 
Amazon. In a manner similar to the lictors of the 
Roman Consuls, the august coupe-tit e carried national 
forces in front of our heroine, who commanded a 
detachment of five hundred warriors as dependable as 
herself. 

The picture also shows Target doing his tight-rope 
act, Sieyes climbing up the folding ladder to give him 
the inverted pyramid. Not far from Theroigne is 
Barnave wearing the shark mask, and in the back- 
ground Mme de Stael is arm-in-arm with M. de 
Champcenetz. 

But to return to Theroigne's club. Naturally 
enough both her friends and enemies were quick to 
express in complimentary or derogatory terms their 
opinion of her attempt at establishing one of her own 
on purely political lines. Champcenetz was perhaps 
the most satirical among her opponents. His account, 
or supposed account, appeared in a letter purporting 
to be from him, and printed in the Actes des Apotres. 
It forms a remarkable contrast to her own simple 
story of the meetings at her house. 

" Chance," he wrote, " gave me the acquaintance of 
Mile Theroigne de Mericourt. The charm of her 
face, the graces of her wit, and, far more than that, her 
ardent love of liberty, attracted me to this adorable 
woman. She might be called the muse of democracy, 
or, still better, Venus giving lessons on public rights. 
Her society is a lyceum, her principles those of the 
portico. She might have those of the arcade if she 
desired. Among her pupils may be counted Abb^ 



Th^roigne^s Club 135 

Si6yes, Petion de Villeneuve, Barnave, and the happy 
Populus, whose prodigious arts of pleasing and 
inexhaustible love she will soon crown, alas! by a 
marriage which will be the misfortune of my life. 
The pieces most applauded, most eloquent, most civic 
of their discourse at the Assembly have been composed 
or inspired by her. The Hotel de Grenoble, Rue de 
Bouloi, where she lodges, has become the central 
point of the great interests of regenerated France. 
There the discovery was made of that administrative 
power, unknown to the ancients, so simple in its 
organisation, so imposing in its details, and so 
ingenious in its progress that it will immediately re- 
place the three other powers, however little the 
mechanism of political societies is perfected. There 
the foundations of this royal democracy, which has 
all the advantages of republics, without having the 
inconveniences of monarchies, are laid ; there is 
built, with the hands of philanthropy, the edifice of the 
liberty of the blacks, already so advanced in Martinique ; 
. . . there the project ripens of making d'Avignon the 
eighty-fifth department of France ; there the enter- 
prises of aristocrats are disconcerted ; there, in short, 
are prepared those luminous motions which are at 
the same time the admiration of the capital and the 
stupefaction of the provinces." 

\ Le Rodeur^ which endeavoured to protect the 
much-maligned Theroigne from her arch enemies, 
" The Apostles," had also a word to say on her 
startling enterprise. In its columns she was de- 
scribed as an amiable young lady of two-and-twenty, 
who hastened to return from Rome to the banks of 



136 A Woman of the Revolution 

the Seine in order to protect the dawning liberty of 
the French. She took up the people's cause, and her 
enthusiasm for the rights of man soon made itself felt. 
Revolutionary committees, it was declared, were held 
at her house, where a thousand nails were driven into 
the machinery of the Constitution, and a policy was 
followed which so enraged the forty-five apostles that 
in their utter aristocratic impotence they permitted 
themselves every outrage, every poignant atrocity, 
that jealous fury could devise. 

\ Among this more or less excellent fooling, the 
general opinion appeared to be, especially in royalist 
circles, that she might have turned her unquestionable 
charms to better account. All sorts of lies were told 
concerning the number and identity of her associates. 
The deposition of the Conite de la Valette, entitled 
" Dires et Aveux," represented her as being in close 
relation with the heads of the democracy, whom she 
received frequently at her house. " Besides the Due 
d'Orleans," he declares, " who was her great and 
principal friend, one might meet at her salon the Dues 
de Liancourt and de Broglie, the Comte de Mirabeau, 
Abbe Sieyes, and many others, all of them deputies 
and partisans of the people." 

Baron Mengin Salabert on the same subject said 
that when the States General was assembled she invited 
to her house the most rabid democrats, among them 
Barnave, Robespierre, Chapelier, and Mirabeau. " This 
new La'is turned their heads," he continues, " and they 
soon made of her a veritable Aspasia to whose house 
they came to take lessons in politics, eloquence, and 
legislation. The continual association with courtesans 



Theroigne^s Club 137 

usually enervates both soul and body, and often is 
conducive to the loss of fortune, health, repose, and 
honour. The four philosophers mentioned did not 
fear such effects, least of all from the financial point 
of view. They were soon reinforced by twenty 
other deputies, among whom were the Abbe Siey^s 
and the Abbe Gouttes, in spite of his white hairs. 
V " They took an hotel, at which they lodged this 
marvellous young woman. There they conspired. 
It was at her house that they formed the project of 
corrupting the French guards. Dressed as a man, 
she went alone, from one end of Paris to the other, 
through all the barracks. She harangued the soldiers 
hour after hour, and in the end distributed money 
amongst them. Thirty thousand livres were given 
by her in a fortnight ! The memorable manifestation 
of the 5 th and 6th of October was prepared by her. 
The Due d'Orleans frequented her salon. He used 
to go there at night, as well as several of those 
attached to his house. They gave themselves up to 
their usual orgies." 

\A11 this is the creation of a vivid imagination. 
Theroigne denied that she had ever spoken to the 
Due d'Orleans. She said, moreover, that, though 
she knew Robespierre, Chapelier, and the Abb6 Gouttes 
by sight, she had never spoken to them and never 
invited them to her house. If she had been intimate 
with them, she would have thought it a great honour. 
When asked whether she had given supper-parties at 
Versailles, she denied that too. 

'" When Paris was filled with clubs," says Beaulieu, 
a more reliable authority, " she was to be seen at one 



13^ A Woman of the Revolution 

or two every evening, after having harangued crowds 
in every quarter of the town all day long, giving out 
at the clubs her motions and instructions, and hurrying 
back to her house to do the honours for her visitors. 
It would be difficult to find another example of such 
activity." He accused her of having utterly ruined 
certain persons of considerable repute. " Rather 
neglected at the outbreak of the Revolution," he 
continues, in his " Essais Historiques," "weary of 
pleasures which had been too well paid, the little 
Mericourt thought of taking up a political career. 
She dressed herself in a riding-habit, crowned her 
pretty head with a little hat a la Henri Quatre, and 
in this attire mixed with the crowd of speakers who 
never ceased to discuss affairs of State in the tribunes 
and gangways of the National Assembly." 

Her singular appearance soon attracted much atten- 
tion. At first it was thought she was there to win 
the admiration which means much to one of her sex 
and age. But this was quite a mistake. " The most 
innocent gallantry made her frown, and the voluptuous 
Cypris was suddenly metamorphosed into a grave and 
severe Minerva. This clever pretence imposed on 
everybody, pricked their dignity, provoked the affec- 
tions of those who thought she was pretty, and little 
was wanting to turn all the politicians into passionate 
lovers. 

" Several of the deputies paid court to the courtesan, 
among others the famous Petion, with whom she 
often had conferences. They also pretended that 
Populus, the deputy, was one of her lovers. But the 
truth was that she did not know him. The authors 



Th^roigne^s Club 1 3 9 

of the Jctes des Apotres made a pun on the word 
Populus, meaning people, and her marriage to Populus 
meant the marriage with the people." 

No one gave more praise to the philosophic senti- 
ments uttered by the fair Theroigne, in Beaulieu's 
opinion, than the Abbe Sieyes. He was her particular 
god. She openly paid homage and adoration to his 
talents and virtues. Mirabeau's immorality she sternly 
deplored. She was told to make allowances for him 
on account of his weakness for the fair sex, but this 
she refused to do, and went so far as to show her 
disapproval in strong terms. 

\ The authors of the " Histoire de la Revolution par 
deux amis de la Liberte " said much the same. It is 
suggested that Beaulieu collaborated with Kerverseau 
and Clavelin in this work, and he may have written 
or revised their account of Theroigne. " We have 
seen wise men fall in love with this small person, who 
rejected their advances with a Lacedemonian pride," 
they say. " When they learnt that this scrupulous 
beauty was nothing more nor less than ?ijille entretenue^ 
abandoned by a lover she had ruined, they laughed 
heartily." 

The most intimate connections of this " Luxemburg 
prude," as they call her, were with the brother of 
Abbe Si6y^s and Romme, one of the most zealous 
followers of the Abbe. Romme, who had since 
become deputy in the national convention, was at 
that time tutor to a young Russian noble. Count 
Strogonoff, who was amused by the intimacy between 
the two. Theroigne was pretty, Romme was a sort 
of Quaker, affecting the most austere modesty ; he 



I40 A Woman of the Revolution 

took no care of his person, and was not good to look 
upon. He was an obscure metaphysician, a political 
alchemist whose ridiculous dissertations it was quite 
impossible to follow. Nothing was more comic, they 
said, than to hear the little Theroigne trying to 
appreciate her master's mysticism, and to see these 
two, so different in appearance and manner, laughing 
together at their audacious discoveries. 

The Deux Amis put her age at twenty-three or four 
at the time they knew her. They admitted her pretti- 
ness, but said that she pushed her reserve to extremes, 
that the most innocent pleasantries made her blush and 
the least coaxing annoyed her. Nevertheless men 
were usually her companions. She joined in all the 
groups, was to be found in all the clubs and at all the 
revolutionary fetes. After spending the morning in 
the public tribunes of the National Assembly she 
spoke in the evening at the Cordeliers and at the 
Jacobins. 

Lamartine and Goncourt have taken their accounts 
of Theroigne's salon from the less accurate sources, of 
which there are many. Both make Mirabeau her 
guest as well as Camille Desmoulins. Goncourt adds 
the names of Brissot, Chenier, Clootz, Fabre d'Eglan- 
tine, Momoro, Saint-Just, and Robespierre. Lamartine 
mentions Danton and Ronsin also. " Romme, the 
mystical republican," he says, " infused into her mind 
the German spirit of illuminatism. Youth, love, 
revenge, and the contact with this furnace of a revolu- 
tion, had turned her head, and she lived in the intoxi- 
cation of passions, ideas, and pleasures. Connected at 
first with the great innovations of '89, she had passed 




141 



Thcroigne^s Club i43 

from their arms into those of rich voluptuaries, who 
purchased her charms dearly. Courtesan of opulence, 
she became the voluntary prostitute of the people ; 
and like her celebrated prototypes of Egypt and of 
Rome, she lavished upon liberty the wealth she 
derived from vice." Duval is quite as extreme : " All 
who had vowed hatred against royalty, all who thirsted 
after royal blood, were admitted with enthusiasm to 
her lodging, and feted and caressed there. She was 
the Duchesse de Montpensier of the gutters, as well as 
the wicked and vindictive sister of the Guises." 

A remarkable picture of a vampire which, as far 
as Theroigne was concerned, was scarcely true to 
nature ! 

In spite of all that was written by those who pre- 
ferred to depict her as a bloodthirsty individual march- 
ing through the dramatic scenes of the Revolution 
with the intention of slaying and destroying, it is 
evident that at this time at least she was far more the 
dame 'politique than the warrior. She had put her 
whole heart into the success of the society which had 
its head-quarters at her house, and when it became 
obvious that the venture was not going to succeed she 
was sincerely grieved. She found it impossible to 
recruit new members, and suggested every means of 
sustaining the dying interest in the club, which had 
only had a lease of three months of life. " When the 
association which had first held its meetings in my 
rooms was dissolved," she says, " I proposed to form 
a new one. I was guided in all my propositions only 
by the love of good and the glory to be acquired 
by rendering myself useful to the nation. But I had 
9 



144 A Woman of the Revolution 

not enough talent for this, nor enough experience, and, 
alas ! I was only a woman," 

The idea of forming a new club having been 
abandoned, a proposal was started that the original 
members should join the Club des Cordeliers, but some 
of them objected to this scheme. Theroigne herself 
would have rejoiced in being permitted to work on an 
equal footing with the men who were giving time, 
money, and life itself for the good of their country. 
But here too she was debarred by sex. The ambitions 
and patriotism of a woman were not to be taken 
seriously at that date. She had done her best to draw 
Sieyes into her little circle, feeling convinced that with 
his authority behind her she would be able to secure 
a certain amount of attention wherever she wished to 
make herself heard. In this respect her project failed 
and she had to remain contented with receiving the 
great constitution-builder by proxy in the person of 
his brother. Nevertheless she obtained a consider- 
able, though by no means unlimited, influence. 
According to Beaulieu her assistance was regarded as 
invaluable in cases where stragglers were to be won 
over, or the discouraged to be strengthened, so re- 
markable were her powers of persuasion. She was 
always present in the tribunes or neighbourhood of 
the Assembly, sometimes dressed in a Greek costume, 
at the head of the shouting rabble, and to her was 
relegated the duty of leading the applause or hooting. 
She had an extraordinary vivacity, an alert imagination, 
and but little wit, declared the same writer, whatever 
may have been said by those who in 1789 regarded her 
as a prodigy. Her head was full of verses by those 



Th^roigne's Club 145 

great poets who had the most exalted Republican ideas. 
She repeated them with wonderful fire, in a jargon 
which was half French, half Flemish, which amused her 
hearers and sounded delightful on lips that were to all 
appearance sweet and innocent. 

Theroigne had undoubtedly the gift of oratory. 
Some of her worst detractors admitted so much. The 
Petit Gauthier, royalist among the royalists, and full of 
coarse and satiric jesting, described '* the Brabantian 
nymph " as carrying away her audience by sheer fervour 
when speaking at a bookseller's in the Palais Royal, in 
spite of the fact that what she said was so unreasonable 
that the aristocrats " shrugged their shoulders for very 
pity," and forced her to cut short her remarks before 
she had done her speech. 

Baudet, who often saw her at gatherings near the 
Tuileries, declared that she spoke more with confidence 
than with the word of the orator. Her costume was 
neither elegant nor bizarre. It consisted of a common 
green riding-habit and a hat with a black feather. She 
was small and well-shaped, with good features and a 
complexion the colour of a russet pear, owing to the 
out-of-door life she led. 

Evidence of her oratorical abilities was given by 
Hyde de Neuville, a royalist whose grandfather had 
fled from England with Charles Stuart in 1745. Hyde 
de Neuville had followed the royal cause staunchly 
from the opening of the Revolution, and wherever he 
could gather a crowd he harangued it upon its duty. 
He declared that Marie- Antoinette had become to him 
an object of romantic devotion and that he could see 
no higher aim in life than to work for her in this 



146 A Woman of the Revolution 

manner. However much he ran the danger of being 
menaced and pursued, he never allowed his zeal to 
lessen. 

" One day," he writes in his Memoirs, '* I was so 
little circumspect as to apostrophise Theroigne de 
Mericourt, already known by her audacious immorality 
and revolutionary declarations. She was haranguing 
the people from the Feuillants Terrace, and did not 
refrain from trying to persuade them by the use of 
pompous phrases, born of the Revolution, which 
were the shameful products of fanaticism, ignorance, 
and the perversity of our political charlatans. We 
began by discussion and we ended in dispute. 
\ " This orator in petticoats gave vent to a thousand 
coarse insults and endeavoured to excite the crowd 
against me, but for once the populace was inclined to 
be generous. People listened to me without murmur- 
ing. A man entered the group and shouted in an 
imperious tone that I was an aristocrat and must be 
left in peace. He was disappointed that I did not get 
angry, for he liked to hear plain speaking. Then he 
came close to me and said in a low tone, ' Now you 
have done enough, little aristocrat ; get out of this,' 
and I followed his advice, which was good." 

Hyde de Neuville described Theroigne as an un- 
fortunate courtesan, who although still young in years 
had aged before her time. He remarked on the 
facility with which she expressed herself, and described 
her carriage as upright, her figure as fine, and her per- 
sonality as stamped with shamelessness and effrontery. 
Conflicting accounts lead to the belief that Theroigne, 
who was usually shy, retiring, and modest, lost all 



Theroigne^s Club i47 

appearance of bashfulness when roused by the excite- 
ment of her cause and made a bold impression upon 
her hearers. Her first serious attempt at a speech 
which has been recorded was made at the Club des 
Cordeliers, the fiery ofF-shoot of the Jacobins Club. 
It was reported by Camille Desmoulins in the Revolu- 
tions de France et de 'Br ah ant, and, it must be con- 
fessed, is coloured by the eloquent personality of its 
transcriber. Th^roigne was imbued with the idea that 
it was time the National Assembly should be housed in 
a palace worthy of its great aims. She came to air 
these views before the tribunal of the club. 

An usher announced to the president of the gather- 
ing that a young woman desired to enter. Every one 
thought that she must be a petitioner. No one 
expected that a preliminary question was going to be 
put, so that the surprise was enormous when the 
celebrated Mile Theroigne came forward and asked 
leave to speak and propose a resolution. It was 
unanimously agreed to admit her to the bar. One 
honourable member was overcome by his enthusiasm 
on seeing her. He cried, '* Here is the Queen of Sheba 
who has come to see the Solomon of the districts." 

"Yes," replied Theroigne to this challenge, with 
much presence of mind, *' it is the reputation of your 
wisdom which brings me into your midst. Prove that 
you are Solomon, and that you have been chosen to 
build a temple, and then hasten to erect a temple to the 
National Assembly. That is the object of my motion. 
Can good patriots much longer endure to see the 
executive power lodged in the finest palace in the world, 
whilst the legislative power has to dwell in tents ; 



148 A Woman of the Revolution 

sometimes in the Salle des Menus-plaisirs, sometimes at 
the tennis-court, sometimes in the riding-school, like 
the ark's dove that has nowhere to rest its feet ? The 
last stone of the last cell of the Bastille has been 
brought to the Senate, and M. Camus regards it every 
day with delight where it lies deposited in the archives. 
The ground on which the Bastille stood is vacant ; 
a hundred thousand workmen require occupation. 
Why do we delay, illustrious Cordeliers, model of the 
districts, patriots, republicans, Romans, who hear me .? 
Hasten to open a subscription in order to erect a 
palace for the National Assembly on the site of the 
Bastille. All France will hasten to second you in this. 
She only awaits the signal ! Give it. Invite all the 
best workmen, the most celebrated artists ; send for the 
famous architects ; cut down the cedars of Lebanon, 
and the firs of Mount Ida. Ah, if stones could move 
of their own free-will it is not for the building of the 
walls of Thebes they would do so, but to construct the 
temple of Liberty ! We must give our gold and our 
jewels to enrich and embellish this edifice. I will give 
mine first as an example. You have been told that 
the French are like Jews, people who have become 
idolaters. The crowd is moved through its senses. 
It is needful to give it outward and visible images upon 
which it may bestow its worship. Turn its glances 
from the Pavilion de Flore, the colonnades of the 
Louvre, to let them rest on a basilica more beautiful 
than Saint Peter's at Rome and Saint Paul's in London. 
The veritable temple of the Eternal, the only worthy 
one, is a temple in which the declaration of the Rights 
of Man has been spoken. The French in the National 



Th^roigne's Club 149 

Assembly claim the rights of men and citizens. There 
without a doubt is a sight upon which the Supreme 
Being can turn His ga2e with delight ; there is the 
form of worship He will accept with greater pleasure 
than tenor and bass voices raised in the Kyrie eleison 
or a Salvum fac regemr 

" Imagine," added Desmoulins, " the effect of a 
discourse so animated and sparkling with symbols 
borrowed indiscriminately from Pindar and the Holy 
Scriptures." 

When the outburst of applause which greeted her 
speech had calmed down, her motion was discussed 
and adopted. The club charged its President Par6, 
its ex-President Danton, its Vice-President Fabre 
d'Eglantine, as well as Camille Desmoulins and 
Dufourny de Villiers, to draw up an address on the 
subject and distribute it in the districts and departments. 
Enthusiasm ran riot. 

But in the end the idea came to nothing. It was 
not altogether new. A month before a certain Mme 
Desormeaux had brought forward a similar scheme. 
Perhaps Theroigne borrowed it from her. Her elo- 
quence certainly drew more people's attention to it. 
Th^roigne's grammar was not perfect by any means, 
but she never lacked inspiration. She had an ulterior 
motive in making this appeal to the people. She 
hoped to be admitted to the district with a consultative 
vote — that is to say, she desired to be accepted as a 
member on the same terms as a man might have been. 
But this was denied her. The Assembly agreed with 
its president, who moved a vote of thanks to this 
charming citoyenne for her resolution. He declared 



150 A Woman of the Revolution 

that since the Council of Ma^on had acknowledged 
the fact that women are possessed of a soul and intellect 
like men, no one could prevent them from making so 
good a use of their faculties as Theroigne had done, 
and that she or others of her sex would be listened 
to with pleasure if they wished to propose measures 
they believed to be advantageous to their country. 
But — and then came the bitter pill — it was impossible 
to admit her to the club as a member with a right 
to speak, leaving out of the question altogether the 
power to vote. 

Although this repulse was a great disappointment 
to her, she did not dwell on it, and in her own account 
of the affair only referred to her success. 

*' I went to the Club des Cordeliers," she says in her 
" Confessions," " and made the following proposition : 
' It is necessary to open a subscription list to build 
a hall which may be worthy of the representatives of 
the nation, and to invite the most celebrated artists in 
Europe to hold a consultation regarding plans and 
a style of decoration. Women must renounce their 
jewels and all such superfluities as are incompatible 
with the austerity of manners and simplicity of habits 
which ought to be the rule in a time regenerated by 
liberty. These vain ornaments ought to be sacrificed 
on the altar of our country.' My motion was 
adopted." 

Theroigne's attitude was not received with acclama- 
tions from the press. The Observateur of March 4th, 
1790, whilst it described her as a young heroine who 
played a role in the Revolution as brilliant as that 
of Gildippe and Clorinda at the siege of Jerusalem, 



Th^roigne's Club 151 

nevertheless pooh-poohed her idea of building a palace 
for the National Assembly, on the grounds of the 
expense at a time when the kingdom was plunged into 
profound and universal misery. "Had she any idea," 
they inquired, " as to the immense sums which would 
have to be consecrated to such an enterprise?" Before 
this was done, it would be better that the effects of the 
monstrous inequality of private fortune should be re- 
moved. "Imagine," continues the Ohervaieur^ address- 
ing their victim, " if you have the courage to do so, four 
thousand invalids cooped up in one house, placed four 
by four, even six by six, in beds where air so pestilential 
circulates that the most robust health does not come in 
contact with it without peril. . . . There, if you have 
eloquence to spare, would be an object worthy of your 
talents. Moreover," they concluded, " it would be 
absurd to wish to add to the edifices of a town which 
is already almost deserted. Would it not be better," 
they advised her, "to keep within the bounds of a 
modest silence than to make oneself conspicuous by 
making such ill-timed propositions ? " 

The Observateur Feminin^ which should have sup- 
ported the doings of a woman, merely stated that 
Theroigne had astonished the Cordeliers, had made 
all Paris laugh, and had laid claims to great notoriety. 

The royalists made very sarcastic comments on the 
affair. " This heroine of the boudoir," they said, 
" proposes resolutions in her district. She considers 
the King is too well lodged and the Assembly too 
badly. Mile Theroigne, by her masculine courage, 
her patriotism, and her flashing eloquence, is in a fair 
way to make people forget her sex." 



152 A Woman of the Revolution 

But that was just what Theroigne failed to do, to 
her own great regret. Without being unwomanly she 
desired to be a reformer, and that was denied her. It 
seemed to her hard and cruel that this should be so. 
She tells an incident in her " Confessions " which 
emphasises the annoyance to which she was subjected. 

" The day when the deputies went to Notre-Dame, 
to sing the Te Deum, they sent me a ticket to be 
present at the ceremony," she writes. " But I arrived 
there too late, and could not get through the crowd. 
Several patriot deputies invited me to walk with them 
in the procession. The desire to see such a solemn 
spectacle, and also the honour of joining the deputies 
in a public ceremony, made me accept their offer. So 
I went part of the way in their ranks. There were 
many who cried ' Ho ! A woman deputy ! That is 
singular ! ' Some priestly aristocrats who noticed this 
expostulated with me. I took their advice and retired. 
There were a great number of people who, like myself, 
were marching in the procession with the deputies 
without being deputies themselves. But they were 
men. At this moment, feeling extremely humiliated, 
I acknowledged the force and the persistence of the 
masculine pride and prejudice which oppressed my sex, 
and kept it in bondage." 

Urged on by such experiences, Theroigne devoted 
herself to the cause of women's emancipation. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CITOYENNES 

THEROIGNE'S enthusiasm on behalf of her sex 
was to lead her far ; through martyrdom, 
through triumph, through degradation, to an appalling 
fate at last. Many women there were who loved as 
much and suffered as much and were as much in 
earnest as she, and probably not one of them all re- 
gretted or felt remorse for what they had done. 

The Revolution gave them many opportunities. 
They were longing to show their metde, their powers 
of endurance, their patriotism, and their unselfishness. 
A common cause urged them to do the thing that has 
always seemed a difficult task for women to achieve, 
namely, to unite in a common purpose, to form a 
combination which should give them power to solve 
the problems of their existence. Theroigne saw the 
need of this union and advocated it with all her 
strength. That she was not more successful as a 
leader was perhaps the fault of circumstance and con- 
ditions rather than of herself, and yet she was lacking 
in some quality which should have brought her into 
closer sympathy with other women. She understood 
men better, and was perhaps not tolerant enough of 
feminine scruples nor faithful enough to the laws of 
social convention. But any deficiency in tact and 

153 



154 A Woman of the Revolution 

intuition was counterbalanced by her application to 
practical detail and her genuine desire to understand 
and master the situation. Had she realised more 
clearly the temper of the women with whom she had to 
deal her task would have been easier and more prolific 
in results. 

Serious upheavals which have for their aim the 
establishment of new and improved conditions have 
always found women ready to participate in bringing 
about social reforms that touch them closely. So it 
was at the time of the French Revolution. The ideals, 
aims, and faith in the future which dwelt in the hearts 
of men stirred also in the bosoms of the women of the 
country. Yet there was this difference. Men were 
fighting for the liberty of the race ; women desired in 
addition the liberty of the sex. The misery, poverty, 
and degradation from which the masses suffered were 
shared by them equally, but the political and civil 
rights for which men struggled were doubly debarred 
to them. 

They not only determined therefore to stand side by 
side with men in the great forward movement, but 
they desired to make their powers so much appreciated 
that their companions would realise their worth, and 
bestow freely upon them the reward they were seeking. 
This was no easy task. Men were ready in that day, 
as in any other, to ridicule the claims of women to a 
political and social equality with themselves. But 
although the great body of men had still to be con- 
verted, women were not without advocates amongst 
them. Their chief champion at this time perhaps was 
Condorcet, marquis and republican, who wrote in his 



The Citoyennes 155 

"Lettres d'un Bourgeois de Newhaven a un citoyen 
de Virginie," etc. (1787), that women should be con- 
sidered as both eligible and elective, and that the idea 
must be combated that they were illogical and in- 
capable of being placed on a footing equal to men. 

If, he said, the number of women who have received 
an exact and continuous education be compared with 
the number of men who have enjoyed the same 
advantages, it will be seen that the repeated opinion 
that the former possess no initiative cannot be regarded 
as proved, and he added, *' I am afraid of getting into 
bad odour with them if they read this article, for I 
am speaking of their claims to equality, and not of 
their natural empire." 

Condorcet's enthusiasm was not shared by many of 
his colleagues, and led to but little practical outcome. 
Women grew discontented and felt that justice was not 
being done to them. Those who were most in earnest 
demanded definite rights as women citizens, but they 
could not master the art of unity and combination, 
and isolated appeals received no attention. 

In spite of the fact, however, that they were refused 
their chief demands, the efforts they made towards more 
freedom were not entirely in vain. 

They won privileges of speech, of conscience, of 
appeal, as well as the right to petition, which was 
valuable ; they could no longer be arrested or im- 
prisoned except as directed by law, and they gained, 
at least temporarily, a right to divorce. 

Considering that they were ready to sacrifice their 
all, life itself if need be, to obtain their desires, these 
advantages may seem but an inadequate result of 



156 A Woman of the Revolution 

strenuous labours, but it would be misleading to sup- 
pose so, for much of the emancipation of women has 
been based upon the exertions of that period, and the 
real origin of the feminist movement, although the 
word '' feminist " was not then applied to it, dates from 
the revolutionary attempt to emancipate humanity. 

The political weight of their opinions may be largely 
discounted, perhaps, but the fact of their presence and 
personal influence in all that went on cannot be denied. 
Women were in the vanguard of the mobs ; they 
swarmed in the galleries of the Assembly and of the 
clubs. They marched in processions, festive or riotous, 
and invaded the bakers' shops. They filled the prisons, 
surfeited the guillotine, and joined with men in acts 
of bloodshed and violence which proved the state of 
desperation they had been goaded into, but did little 
credit to the restraint and modesty always regarded 
as among the more feminine virtues. Women were 
keenly interested in all the debates ; they prepared 
speeches, they wrote discourses, they organised meet- 
ings, they embroidered flags and banners, they made 
shirts and knitted stockings, they sacrificed their 
jewels and other luxurious tastes on the altar of liberty. 
Gone were the habits and frivolities of the old regime, 
gone the coquetry and dilettantism of the days of 
monarchy ! From the highest to the lowest they 
demanded work — a legitimate means of earning an 
independent livelihood, bread that they might eat under 
terms of liberty, and they asked further that men 
should not be allowed to exercise such trades as they 
considered were essentially suited to women. *' Leave 
us at least the needle and the spinning-wheel," they 



The Citoyennes 157 

pleaded, and then with a sigh of revolt they added 
"Is our device always to be * Work, obey, and be 
silent ' ? " 

Truly their lot in the Revolution was a hard one. 
They had so little glory, so much suffering and 
sacrifice. They were prevented, except in isolated 
cases, from distinguishing themselves on the battle- 
field, or in the legislative house, side by side with 
men, but their punishment was as heavy as that 
meted out to their brothers. " Women have the 
right to mount the scaffold," cried Olympe de Gouges ; 
" they ought to have an equal right to mount the 
tribunal." Where was justice .? Whilst in the hope 
of receiving their due, women searched ardently for 
an outlet for their pent-up energies. Not content to 
work and wait passively in the home, they desired 
to give some picturesque or dramatic exhibition of 
their eagerness to play an active part. This led some 
of them to offer their jewels publicly to the country 
on September 7th, 1789. The president of the 
National Assembly rose to ask the house for an 
audience for those ladies who wished to vouchsafe 
this proof of patriotism. There was a sudden hush 
in the Assembly, and then a burst of applause as the 
women filed in, simply attired in white, without 
ornament of any kind. An usher was appointed to 
show them into seats, and a discourse was read which 
set forth their willingness to give up their jewels, 
" which they would blush to wear when patriotism 
demanded the sacrifice." 

Then the president thanked these generous women 
in the name of the Assembly, and one by one they 



158 A Woman of the Revolution 

stepped forward, casket in hand, to place their offerings 
on the president's table. By these and similar means 
some hundreds of thousands of francs were collected 
and distributed among the poor. 

But the real centre of attraction to women was 
the club. Even as Th6roigne had quickly realised 
the growing power and importance of this institution, 
other women saw also that here might be found the 
very opening which they were seeking for their 
enthusiasm. But if they imagined that men would 
admit them even here on equal terms with themselves 
they were utterly mistaken. In a few instances their 
presence at meetings was allowed within certain limits, 
and before long many of the societies organised a 
joint or branch section which was open to both sexes ; 
but those women who believed themselves to be born 
orators, and were anxious to air their views upon a 
platform, were, with a few exceptions, doomed to 
disappointment. And this state of affairs led eventually 
to the formation of women's clubs. 

One of the first of the clubs to see a woman on its 
platform was the Cercle Sociale ; the incident, how- 
ever, was unexpected and unrehearsed. This society 
had a hall in the Palais Royal, capable of seating some 
three thousand people. It had a large membership 
at a subscription of eight livres a month, and its 
motto, inscribed in prominent lettering above the 
speaker's head, was, " Bring each a ray of light." 
On November 26th, 1790, one Charles Louis Rousseau 
was endeavouring somewhat unsuccessfully to perform 
the injunction of the motto with reference more par- 
ticularly to woman's political position. 




GILBERT ROMME. 



159 



The CitoyenneS t6t 

*' tiave women influence in government?" he asked, 
" and, if so, by what means can this influence be used 
in enhancing the prosperity of the State ? What civil 
and poHtical rights should be possessed by women in 
the best-governed country ? " and other questions 
bearing on the same subject. 

Instead of dealing with the matter in a straight- 
forward and practical fashion, the speaker strung 
together a number of platitudes, interspersed his speech 
with ill-timed complimentary phrases meant to flatter 
his fair audience, and punctuated the whole with 
theatrical gesticulations which wearied the less im- 
pressionable of his hearers, so that at last the president, 
fearing that this uninspiring speech would never end, 
took it upon himself to suspend the sitting. This 
was an unexpected blow to feminism, and a woman 
of commanding figure rose and asked a question in 
ringing tones, plainly heard throughout the hall. 

" Gentlemen," she said, "is it possible that the 
Revolution, which has for its object the attainment 
of the rights of man, can be the cause of Frenchmen 
showing injustice and dishonesty to women ? Other 
speakers have been listened to with patience. Why 
should the one who pleads the cause of women be 
interrupted ? I demand, in the name of the women 
citizens present, that M. Rousseau be allowed to 
proceed." 
\ At these remarks there was general applause. The 
speaker was asked herself to continue. But her 
modesty prevented her saying more than a very few 
words. She blamed the Frenchmen for having become 
corrupt and enfeebled. " Since our compatriots have 

lO 



1 62 A Woman of the Revolution 

imitated the Romans, let us imitate the virtues and 
patriotism of the Roman women," she cried. There 
was a general desire amongst them to elect her 
presidente, but she refused. 

This woman, Etta Palm by name, of Dutch extrac- 
tion, and called Aelders before her marriage, worked 
as well or even better than Theroigne in her sisters' 
cause. She did several notable things in the move- 
ment, attempting to federate the women's societies 
and establish a correspondence among them similar J 
to that carried on by the Jacobins. The oath taken '■ 
by the members of these societies was worded as 
follows : " I swear to be faithful to the nation, to the 
law, and to the king. I swear to help my husband, 
my brothers, and my children to fulfil their duties to 
the State as far as possible. I swear to teach my 
children, and all those over whom I have authority, 
to prefer death to slavery." 

Etta placed herself at the head of those who pleaded 
for civic and intellectual education. Theroigne, after 
seeing her own club fail, and realising something of the 
ever-increasing dangers in which France was becoming 
involved, veered over to those who desired military 
privileges and made their chief aim a share in the 
national defence. Etta desired to raise a statue to the 
wife of Phocion, in order that women might have 
before their eyes a model of wisdom, modesty, and 
simplicity — virtues which were both moral and civic. 
Theroigne, realising the futility of opposing force 
with humility and goodness, would rather have con- 
structed a temple to Bellona, so that she might 
command her votaries to kneel before the altar of 



The Citoyenncs 163 

the goddess and utter a prayer for strength and ability 
in arms. 

But this warlike attitude developed its full force 
only when constitutional measures had failed. This 
was not until after her return from Kufstein. Until 
then she remained watching the work that other 
women were doing in the very field she was trying 
to enter herself, the field of political labour. Busy 
as she was with her own affairs, she found time to 
appreciate the efforts that other women were making 
to join the clubs or, this being denied them, to found 
societies of their own. 

Etta Palm was one of the prime movers in this 
direction. She set forth in the following terms the 
part she thought women ought to play in these 
institutions : 

Citizens, she declared, have united in the eighty- 
three departments to defend the *' Constitution. Do 
you not think, gentlemen, that their wives and the 
mothers of families could unite in imitation of them to 
make it beloved ? La Societe des Amis de la Verite 
is the first society which has admitted us to patriotic 
meetings." Then she referred to the provincial towns, 
Creil, Alais, Bordeaux, and others, that had followed 
this example. *' Would it not be useful," she con- 
tinued, " if a patriotic society of citoyennes was formed 
in each section of the capital, and if a central and 
federative circle invited all the societies of the eighty- 
three departments to correspond with them .'' " And 
then followed a detailed and apparently practical plan 
of federal organisation. Among other duties, women 
were to combine to protect young country girls who 



164 A Woman of the Revolution 

arrived in the capital without friends, acquaintances, or 
money, and who ran great perils in an unknown city, 
to look after public education and bring up the rising 
generation to be strong and healthy citizens. Charity 
schools were to be under their immediate supervision, 
and workshops were to be founded at which girls from 
six to thirteen were to be taught some suitable trade in 
order that later they might help to support the family : 
in short, every form of poverty or misery, every un- 
fortunate or starving woman, was to have a sacred 
claim upon the assistance of the club. 

Unlike Theroigne, Etta Palm was no orator. " If," 
she said, " the construction of my phrases is not 
according to the rules of the French Academy, it is 
because I consulted my heart rather than the diction- 
ary." She declared that women were superior to men 
in vivacity of imagination, in delicacy of sentiment, 
in their resignation during trouble, strength in grief 
and pain, patience in suffering and both in generosity 
of soul and patriotic zeal. Thus she summed up the 
feminine virtues. She spoke of the sacrifice of jewels 
and adornment, and thought that as a reward civic 
crowns should replace the gew-gaws which could only 
be regarded as the outward signs of frivolity and 
luxury. She also advocated union to be achieved by 
the elimination of all personal hate and enmity. This 
was one of the chief doctrines preached by Theroigne. 
" In that case," cried Etta Palm, meaning if they were 
all united, " what could fifty thousand vile aristocrats 
do against three hundred thousand soldiers of 
liberty P " All these arguments were used by the 
chief women leaders in the movement. On April ist, 



The Citoycnnes 165 

1792, only a few short months after Theroigne's 
triumphant return from her imprisonment in Austria, 
Etta Palm appeared at the bar of the Legislative As- 
sembly as spokeswoman of a deputation of women who 
demanded : 

Firstly, that public education as already established 
for boys should be extended also to girls. 

Secondly, that women of twenty-one should be de- 
clared of age. 

Thirdly, that perfect equality of rights should exist 
between boys and girls. 

Fourthly, that divorce should be legalised. 

Although these suggestions were bold for her day, 
Etta was not among the most advanced of the women 
reformers. Her strength lay in her restraint. She 
had no militant plans like Theroigne, and took no 
violent measures like Rose (or Claire) Lacombe, who 
from ij^93 onwards became the leader of the most 
revolutionary women's club and allied herself with the 
emigres. Long before that date mixed societies had 
been formed which became a distinctive feature of the 
club organism. These Societes Fraternelles des Deux 
Sexes, as they were called, were very distinctive in their 
way, and gave to the women who were longing to find 
an outlet for their turbulent feelings the opportunity 
to join in political meetings and express their utter 
contempt for all existing conditions, especially those 
which limited their civic powers. Theroigne was one 
amongst those who availed herself freely of these 
privileges, and it is therefore interesting to trace the 
origin and growth of these hybrid institutions. The 
first of them was opened at Paris in the early autumn 



1 66 A Woman of the Revolution 

of 1790 and held its sittings in one of the halls at 
the Jacobins. The original instigator was a poor and 
very earnest boarding-house proprietor of the name 
of Claude Dansard. Moved by a spirit of patriotism, 
he caused to assemble many artisans, street vendors of 
fruit and vegetables, and labourers with their wives and 
children. The meetings took place in the evenings 
and on Sundays, and their object was the reading and 
interpretation of the laws framed by the National 
Assembly and the Declaration of the Rights of Man. 
Dansard provided the light required at these gather- 
ings. He always produced from his pocket a candle- 
end, flint and tinder-box. When the sitting was 
prolonged the light threatened to fail, and a subscription 
was raised among those present to purchase more 
candles, and the reading was continued amidst general 
satisfaction. 

At first these humble reunions had something of a 
social importance, and probably the admission of wives 
and children was an astute move on the part of 
Dansard, but presently the social side was merged 
entirely in the political influence they assumed. In 
the spring of 1791 the club took the name of "Societ6 
Fraternelle des Patriotes des Deux Sexes. Defenders 
(later Friends) of the Constitution." Well-known 
individuals, both men and women, appeared there. 
Mme Robert, nee Keralio, wife of the journalist, who 
edited and translated many works, was one of the mos): 
noteworthy. She advocated reform in the hospitals, 
" those places founded by public philanthropy for the 
relief of suff^ering humanity, where humanity is perhaps 
most shamefully ill-treated and persecuted." She 



The Citoyenncs 167 

endeavoured to obtain the appointment of female 
as well as male inspectors, believing that the details 
of administration which would escape the notice of 
men would be observed by the quick eye of a woman. 
" They would taste the soup and see whether the meat 
was fit to eat," she said. But these women were not 
to be chosen from the luxurious and idle classes. 
They were to be working-women who understood 
their business. Mme Robert desired to institute 
hospitals for the diseased, workhouses for the poor, 
J and houses of correction for the evil-doers. Mme 
y Roland, who joined the society after the flight to 
' Varennes, did not like Mme Robert, and described 
her as a small woman, intellectual, clever, and proud — 
but a little inconsistent. Mme Moitte, who had led 
the women on to sacrifice their jewels on the altar 
of the country, was a member of the society, and Etta 
Palm, as well as Pauline Leon. Theroigne was not 
in Paris during the days of its early popularity, but 
she attended the meetings after her return in the 
spring of 1792. Among the men were Danton, 
Tallien, Roederer, and Hebert. 

" Curiosity took me a single time only to one of 
the public sittings of the Societe Fraternelle," writes 
Mme de Genlis in her Memoirs. " It was a spectacle 
at once original, terrifying, and ridiculous. The 
women of the people spoke there, although they did 
not mount the tribune, but they frequently interrupted 
the speakers, and uttered long dissertations without 
leaving their places." Lamartine compared the 
fraternal society very favourably with the more violent 
assemblies organised by women. " This union," he 



1 68 A Woman of the Revolution 

said, " was composed of educated women, who dis- 
cussed with more decency the social questions analogous 
to their sex, such as marriage, maternity, the education 
of children, the institutions of relief, and the assistance 
of humanity. They were the philosophers of their sex. 
Robespierre was their oracle and their idol. The 
Utopian and vague character of its institutions was 
conformable to the genius of women, more adapted 
to dream of the social happiness than to form the 
mechanism of societies." If this were the truth, it 
represents but a small section of thought, for the 
usual temper of the women who joined these clubs 
was to the highest degree electrical. 

Another important fraternal society was the Societe 
Fraternelle des Deux Sexes de la Section Saint- 
Genevieve — later called, of the Pantheon Frangais. 
The original regulations were issued on December i6th, 
1790. In November 1793 this society gave a civil 
fete in honour of Lepelletier and Marat at the un- 
veiling of their statues in the Place de I'Estrapade. 
Theroigne was an active member of the Societe 
Fraternelle des Minimes. Its president was Tallien, 
and it had rather more warlike aims than some of the 
fellow-societies. The Societe Fraternelle de la Section 
des Sans-Culottes was one of the more advanced in its 
views regarding the position of women. Its regula- 
tions, which were published on July 17th, 1793, 
declared " that the right of acquiring and spreading 
instruction and enlightenment belonged to both sexes 
equally, therefore citoyennes were admitted without 
distinction to share the patriotic works of the society." 
The Societe fraternelle des Amis de la Patrie held 



The Citoyennes 169 

meetings in Trinity Church, Rue Saint-Denis, and was 
composed of all good citizens and citoyennes who were 
true patriots and republicans. Persons were admitted 
to membership on presentation by four members. 
They took an oath as follows : " We swear to be 
faithful to the French nation, to which we have the 
happiness to belong, and to the law ; to maintain the 
Republic, one and indivisible ; Liberty and Equality, 
which yield our happiness and the destruction of 
tyrants ; to defend individuals and property or to die 
defending them." The women's names were entered 
in a special register. 

The Societe Patriotique et Fraternelle des Citoyens 
de la Section du Theatre-Franfais met in the Grands- 
Augustins, and in June 1791 published measures of 
safety and vigilance with regard to the careful choice 
of electors upon whom depended that of the deputies 
to the Legislative Assembly. 

Most of the sections had fraternal societies, and 
most of these societies made special rules for their 
women members. A clause in the rules of the Union 
Fraternelle des Gobelins explained that citoyennes 
admitted into the society would be separated from 
the citizens. Women were not expected to contribute 
to the working expenses of the club. But neither 
were they encouraged to speak, and this was a serious 
deprivation to those who were burning with ideas and 
plans for the amelioration of conditions, and desired 
above all things to help their brothers in the coming 
struggle for liberty. 

The silence thus imposed upon them was little to 
the taste of the eager women, and no doubt gave them 



170 A Woman of the Revolution 

the idea of organising clubs of their own. In the 
provinces the idea was seized upon with avidity. In 
hundreds of small towns the women co-operated in 
arranging meetings, in holding demonstrations, in 
giving voice to loyal aims, in subscribing patriotic 
gifts, and in many other ways demonstrating their 
love for their country. Almost every popular society 
admitted women. 

An important, and in many ways typical, women's 
club was formed at Lyons towards the summer of 
1 79 1. It was called the Association des Citoyennes 
de Lyon particulierement devouees a la Nation et a la 
Loi. As the name implies, one of its chief aims 
was to make a study of the new laws. The flag of 
the society was deposited at the church of Saint-Jean. 
Strong religious and puritanical sentiments seem to 
have been characteristic among the members. They 
eschewed the wearing of jewels as adornments un- 
suited to the natural beauty of the human figure, because 
their brilliancy competed with that of the eyes and 
complexion, and because by their very brightness they 
drew attention to themselves which ought to be 
bestowed upon the individual. They refused to wear 
garments which constricted the figure in a manner 
never intended by nature, or which hid under loose 
folds the beautiful lines of the form. The hair was 
neatly dressed without artificial adornments. Simpli- 
city in everything was the motto. Good manners 
were essential. It was ruled that there were never to 
be more than three men present at the meetings lest 
a greater proportion of men to women should be 
deemed immodest. No girl under eighteen years of 



The Citoyennes 171 

age was admitted unless accompanied by her mother 
or an aunt. To be eligible for membership it was 
necessary to be introduced by three citoyennes, to 
pay a subscription of ten sols per month, to attend 
meetings, which were held on Sundays after vespers, 
regularly, and to take the oath of the society, which 
was a strong confession of patriotism. There were 
also stringent rules with regard to silence. Four 
officials were appointed to see that order was strictly 
kept. They were placed in different parts of the 
hall and were called surveillantes. Should any woman 
break the rule that only one speaker was allowed to 
speak at a time, she was liable to a fine, and if the 
hubbub grew general the president immediately 
terminated the sitting. 

\ Naturally enough this society did not escape the 
gibes of those who believed it impossible to maintain 
law, order, and quiet among a body of enthusiastic 
women. But at least it appears to have been carried 
on in a manner which allowed no room for any breach 
of circumspection. Not so in the case of other clubs 
in which men were present. At Chauny, for instance, 
pleasantries were indulged in during the meetings 
which consisted in blowing out the lights and dis- 
charging squibs beneath the skirts of the women. 
One day two of the members, one of them being 
among the best known of the orators, were dismissed 
for attempting to scratch each other's eyes out. 

Another day the speaker was interrupted by the 
cracking of nuts. The president chided the culprit 
and begged her to refrain from this amusement during 
the meeting. She replied that if he would crack the 



172 A Woman of the Revolution 

nuts for her it would save a lot of trouble. There- 
upon he told her that severe punishment was meted 
out to those who disturbed the gathering of the 
popular societies. At this she burst out laughing, and 
before he could finish what he had to say she left the 
hall, skipping out in an indecorous and frisky manner. 

At this club a new form of the Lord's Prayer was 
used, addressed to the king, which ran : '* Our father 
who art at the Tuileries, respected be thy name; thy 
reign come again; thy will be done in Paris as it is 
in the provinces. May all rascals who seek to steal 
our bread be hanged on lanterns, and deliver us above 
all from the machinations of the National Assembly. 
Amen." 

At Coutances in the Popular Society the citoyennes 
were seated in a special gallery, but they overflowed 
into the hall so often and behaved with so much 
frivolity — going so far on one occasion as to embrace 
the speaker — that the committee thought it well to 
make such physical demonstrations impossible, *' since 
the nation gained nothing from such exhibitions, and 
morality might lose a great deal." Jealous husbands 
were averse at this club to their wives sitting amongst 
members of the other sex " unless the galleries were 
well lighted." The men of Cherbourg grew tired of 
admitting women to their gatherings, and from August 
30th, 1 791, members of the fair sex were excluded. 
Nor were they allowed to be present at private sittings 
of the Amis de la Constitution at Saint-Servan on 
account of the *' proverbial incontinence of women's 
language." 

At Villenauxe-la-Grande disturbances also took place, 



The Citoyennes i73 

and it was found necessary in order to secure public 
tranquillity that all women should be seated on the 
left side of the house and all men on the right. It was 
here that a rumour was rife of women sticking pins 
and needles in the president's chair. 

Women were allowed in the hall of the Amis de 
la Liberte et de TEgalite at Colmar ; but upon com- 
plaints of flippancy being made, they were relegated 
to a separate gallery. Once, when there happened 
to be no speakers, the president adjourned the house 
and proposed that all present should go and dance the 
carmagnole round the Tree of Liberty; a proposition 
which was very well received. 

The citoyennes were so coquettish at Bayeux that 
by the aid of silky ribbons they transformed their 
cockades into a gay and unseemly adornment so un- 
suitable in the eyes of the Popular Society that a 
request was made to them not to wear their cockades 
en bazin and to cease looking like actresses. 

Although such incidents make it appear that the 
women of the provincial clubs were not as serious- 
minded in their work as the men, this must not be 
regarded as the truth. Most of them were in deadly 
earnest, and if, in some of the things they did, lighter 
feminine moods became apparent, these were only in 
contrast to the business they achieved. 

There were women's clubs at Cognac, Orleans, and 
Angouleme ; and at Bordeaux, according to one 
account, there were no fewer than three separate 
feminine societies. At Valence there were two clubs 
which admitted women. At Bourges the Popular 
Society allowed women to be present at its meetings, and 



174 A Woman of the Revolution 

several members offered to make shirts for the defenders 
of the country. Others presented various articles of 
more or less value. A gift of Phrygian bonnets at 
Saint-Calais was received with delighted cries of 
" Long live women patriots ! " A large number of 
women at Moulins made clothes for the volunteers, 
whilst those of Grenoble knitted socks and scarves. 
At Honfleur charitable women formed a Philanthropic 
Committee and excited the people's liberality, dis- 
tributing considerable results among the poor. Gene- 
rosity was a prevalent quality among the patriotic 
women. When the Mayor of Beaumont-le-Roger 
called a meeting in the church to read the laws to 
the people, he took out his watch to look at the 
time, and patriotic women citizens demanded that 
he should offer it upon the altar of the country. 
When he refused they became riotous. The citoy- 
ennes of Fontainebleau, Brest, and Lorient were 
very active ; all the children in the last place were 
taught patriotic songs, and the women formed a 
masonic lodge of their own. At Tours they swore 
terrible oaths to cherish the country and destroy the 
aristocrats. They blessed flags, sang stirring songs, 
and danced to patriotic music. This society boasted 
the youngest citoyenne of all. An ecclesiastic with 
revolutionary tendencies brought his whole family to 
the Popular Society and made a little speech. " My 
daughter Cornelia," he said, *' who is eight months 
old, will be presented by her mother and taken on 
to the platform by her nurse. She will enjoy in 
anticipation the delights of true republicanism in the 
midst of you." Children were encouraged by their 



The Citoyennes i75 

mothers to show precocious enthusiasm. At Rouen, 
where orators of the fair sex were allowed upon the 
platform, a child of eight, whose name was Rose 
Renant, made a speech to the Popular Society. '* How 
can I describe to you without shuddering," declared 
this imp, "the terrible grief I should feel if I saw 
my dear papa or mamma, my relatives, friends, and 
neighbours suffer beneath the blows of villain aristo- 
crats, or fall under their tyranny ? Rather than that 
such a terrible misfortune should overcome me, I 
would wish that the fury of the nobility should be 
directed against me alone." 

' Rose was not the only child patriot. At Dijon 
there was a club called the Jeunes Amies de la 
Republique, of which the members were all between 
eight and sixteen years of age. They held meetings 
and harangued their mothers. One of their spokes- 
women, a girl called Henriette Ecureux, deplored 
the fact that she was not old enough to have served 
her country, but she prayed for all good patriots, and 
had begun to weave laurel wreaths for the occasion 
of their triumphal return. Lamartine mentions a 
club of children between twelve and fourteen called 
" Red Children," the baptism of blood upon the 
heads of these precocious republicans. 

Dijon, at any rate, possessed a far more serious 
institution in the shape of a women's club called 
successively Amies de la Constitution, de I'Egalite, 
and de la Republique. Its aim was to republicanise 
the Dijon ladies. The standard of the society was 
blessed at the church of Saint-Michel on May 30th, 
1 79 1, and was afterwards deposited in the Hall of 



17^ A Woman oi the Revolution 

Parlement, where the Amis de la Constitution 
met. In September of that year the president of 
the women's club asked the members of the men's 
club to send an address to all the affiliated clubs 
*' inviting their sisters in the eighty-three departments 
to organise and form societies, so that they might 
play a serious part in the events which might follow 
upon war." 

Meetings were organised sometimes for the strangest 
reasons. The Boulonnaises held a demonstration 
against bachelors, and gave a ball excluding these 
selfish individuals, " the fete being intended for 
respectable men." The women of Neuberg were so 
enthusiastic that young women swore not to marry 
any but citizens who had fought in the armies. The 
lady members of the Societe Fraternelle des Deux 
Sexes de Paris had sworn not to marry aristocrats. 
This example was followed at Nantes, where an oath 
to this effect appeared in verse : 

Nous, dames du district Nantais, 
Femmes, veuves et demoiselles, 
Savoir faisons a tous Fran9ais. 
Surtout qu'etant tres d^mocrates, 
Nous ne pouvons voir sans horreur 
Ces gens sans esprit et sans coeur 
Que Ton appelle aristocrates. . . . 

The Bearnaises were eligible for election as members 
of the Popular Society, but were discontented because 
they could not vote. At Blois, being forbidden to 
wear the distinctive tricolour ribbon, the citoyennes 
formed a society of their own. 

/An account of a characteristic meeting held at one 
of the women's clubs on December 30th, 1792, may 




THEROIGNE DE MERICOURT. 
From an engraving by Devritz of a portrait in the Bibliotheque Nationale. 



177 



The Citoycnncs i79 

fitly close a chapter which is intended to convey some 
impression of the unrest and ferment seething in the 
minds of the women throughout France during the 
earlier part of the Revolution. The gathering took 
place in the presence of representatives of three united 
administrative bodies. 

After the meeting had been opened in the usual 
manner by the woman president, the minutes of the 
last meeting were read and approved, and then one 
of the citoyennes demanded that before the pro- 
ceedings went any further the Marseillaise should be 
sung. A young citizen called Maitre and a woman 
citizen of the name of Charton sang the hymn, 
accompanied by music and with a chorus in which 
all the members joined. Music was also played 
during the arrival of the representatives of the three 
administrative bodies, who took seats near the 
president. They wore distinctive badges. 

Citoyenne Charton made a speech from the platform, 
extolling the glory and felicity of the work of looking 
after and assisting good patriots. Then a Mme 
Charpin tendered a proposition that Bishop Lamour- 
ette should compose a new catechism from which 
children might learn not only the principles of 
religion, but also of true republicanism. Citoyenne 
Pere mounted the platform next, and spoke of the 
glorious Revolution, which she laid to the honour 
of the philosophers. She emphasised the urgency 
of propagating popular societies, in order that the 
youth of the country might be instructed in the 
new laws. Two other women addressed the meeting, 
and then a young citoyenne recited Chapters VII. 
II 



i8o A "Woman of the Revolution 

and VIII. of Rousseau's *' Contrat Social," followed 
by the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Then 
she said a patriotic prayer. This was succeeded by 
recitations from other works, namely, " The Cate- 
chisme de la Republique " and the '* Almanach de 
Pere Gerard," as well as further chapters of the 
" Contrat Social " declaimed by various men and 
women. After that a distribution took place of 
prizes given by the members of the district, of the 
department, and of the municipality. Citizen Chaine, 
who had been presented with a sabre, took an oath 
never to use it except for the purpose of destroying 
the enemies of the Republic. 

The Marseillaise was sung a second time, and the 
proceedings ended. 

These were sober and heartfelt doings. In other 
places dancing and jollity, even gambling and feasting, 
went on, but the women who took part in these 
gaieties were in the minority. Demonstrations by 
Catholic women who had suffered on account of the 
departure of refractory priests formed yet another side 
of the spirit shown by women in revolt. 

As time went on a desperate and dangerous note 
entered into the club organism, and women of a 
different type herded together with sinister purpose. 
Theroigne was to come into contact with them to 
her cost. But that was not until a combination of 
circumstances had made it necessary for her to leave 
the scene of the Revolution, temporarily at least. 



CHAPTER V 

FLIGHT AND CAPTUPIE 

PARIS was not the safest place for Theroigne. 
She must have been aware of this. She pre- 
tended she knew nothing of the kind, and that the 
reasons which took her into the country were of the 
most ordinary and commonplace character. It was 
quite natural that, when brought face to face with 
her judges, she should have thought it wise to give 
a glib explanation of the causes which led to her 
leaving the capital. In order to sustain her role of 
perfect innocence it was necessary to appear to know 
nothing of any possible danger awaiting her there. 
In the very simplicity of Theroigne's account lies its 
cleverness. 

\ " I liked Paris very much," she says naively, *' but 
I had not enough money to remain there for long. 
Besides, I had charged myself with the care of my 
brothers, whom I did not wish to abandon. I was not 
paid my income of five thousand livres, and I did 
not know when the payment would take place. More- 
over, I had anticipated my resources. I had an 
advance made of one thousand crowns for two years, 
and for a long time I had had my diamonds in pawn. 
I was greatly in debt, and, in short, I had no other 
resources except a necklace worth twenty-five louis. 

i8i 



1 82 A Woman of the Revolution 

" If I had remained in Paris under the conditions in 
which I was then living, the whole sum would soon 
have been spent, and I should have been under the 
obligation of contracting new debts. It was therefore 
necessary to change my manner of living or to leave. 
Much in the public eye, accustomed to a somewhat 
luxurious existence, which I led less from taste than 
from amour-propre^ it was difficult for me, unless I dis- 
appeared from the scenes familiar to me, to carry out 
my projects of economy." 

This is not the speech of one whose heart was in 
the people's cause ! This is not the real Theroigne, 
burning with ambition, reckless, impulsive, and ever 
ready for new adventure ! " I resolved then and there to 
leave society and to live apart, ignored and unknown," 
she continues, as though all her life she had preferred 
oblivion to notoriety. " I took the name of Poitiers, 
and then I could more freely accommodate my manner 
of dressing and my expenses to my modest means." 
Because she had done what she had done in Paris 
under the name of Theroigne, because the royalist 
journals contained that name in almost every number 
that was issued from their unholy presses, perhaps 
her object in assuming another was of more significance 
than the mere discarding of the gaudy amazones and 
other trifling extravagances she had indulged in. But 
still she flirts with the idea that flight had not been 
necessary, " I asked myself often whether I should 
stay in France or whether I should return to my own 
country," she says, and then brings out the reason 
why she went so far away. " The arrival of my 
brother Pierre in Paris from Li^ge, where he had 



Flight and Capture 183 

gone when he had left Genoa, decided me to take the 
road to my native land." 

Then she becomes bolder. She refers to the annoy- 
ance caused her by the royalists ; she admits that a 
rumour of arrests issued from the Chatelet had reached 
her, but she says nothing of her intense wish to free 
the people, and her heartfelt interest in the progress 
of the Revolution, " I confess that I left the stage 
of the Revolution without too much regret, because 
I sujfFered every day from unpleasantnesses in the 
tribunes of the National Assembly. There were 
always some aristocrats there to whom my zeal and 
my candour were displeasing. They deluged me with 
sarcasms without ceasing. They annoyed me ; they 
laid traps for me. Certain patriots even, instead of 
encouraging, defending, and rendering me justice, 
turned my efforts into ridicule. That is the 
truth. 

*' Besides, I was assured that they had given infor- 
mation against me at the Chatelet for the affair of 
October 5 th and 6th. Having done nothing those 
famous days, I did not fear anything. Afterwards, 
however, they frightened me by telling me of the 
partiality of the tribunal. I had made many enemies, 
they said, and enemies against whom all resistance 
would be in vain. 

" The underhand dealings of my enemies, my pecu- 
niary position, which had become very precarious — all, 
in short, urged me to leave Paris. So I left for Liege 
by the diligence." 

It is a very plausible story, so plausible that it leaves 
a doubt as to Theroigne's sincerity as a reformer. 



184 A Woman of the Revolution 

Had she felt deeply then, could she have concealed 
her feelings under so trivial a tone ? 

When she left Paris by the diligence, Theroigne 
found the vehicle full of aristocrats, who discussed the 
patriots in anything but gentle terms. In order to 
avoid the society of these " coarse people,' ' she 
changed her seat, and followed the diligence in a small 
carriage. In the carriage she made the acquaintance 
of a certain M. Barrachin, and informed him in 
confidence that she was going into a retreat in order 
to study. He gave her a letter of recommendation 
to a bookseller in Liege, which she accepted but did 
not use. 

At Rheims she left her carriage, which was going 
no farther, and drove to Paliseul in a mail-cart. 
There she hired a horse, and rode into Saint-Hubert. 
She put up at a little inn, where she met an officer 
and a merchant. From the latter she bought some 
handkerchiefs to give to her friends at Marcourt. 

The officer, who recognised the moment she opened 
her mouth that she had come from Paris, spoke very 
disdainfully of the Revolution. Here apparently 
Theroigne forgot the part she was playing, which 
consisted in appearing to take but a lukewarm interest 
in the French position. She says she spoke hotly 
against despotism, and that a spirited argument en- 
sued. It turned upon the patriots of Brabant. At 
this name her judges pricked up their ears, for ac- 
cording to more than one account the real reason of 
Theroigne's absence from Paris was that she had 
been sent in company with others by the Jacobins to 
spread revolutionary propaganda in this province. 



Flight and Capture 185 

She stated boldly that in reply to the officer's con- 
demnation of the unrest among the peasants she had 
declared their cause was just, and that Emperor 
Joseph II. had wrongfully suppressed their privileges 
and restrained their rights. So excited was she on 
this question that she was unable to contain herself. 
" He had the intention of giving up Brabant in ex- 
change for Bavaria," she cried, '' because, forsooth, 
he said that he liked towns that had been burnt better 
than those that were in revolt." In speaking thus 
to the Emperor's officer she was very indiscreet, and 
exposed herself to insult. She merely relates that 
she felt this need of outspokenness, and did not try 
to defend it. Joseph II. 's death, in February 1790, 
put an end to the reforms which he had endeavoured 
to institute in the Low Countries, and which had 
aroused disturbance and discontent amongst the people. 
His project to annex Bavaria had already come to 
naught through the interference of Frederick the 
Great. Joseph's successor, Leopold II., did everything 
possible to restore order in the afflicted provinces. 

Had it been true that Theroigne's mission was to 
Brabant, she would hardly have been likely to dwell 
on this episode in her " Confessions." 

From Saint-Hubert she set off on horseback to 
Marcourt. At an isolated farm in the midst of the 
forest she dismounted, and sought refreshment in the 
shape of new milk. It crossed her mind that she 
would like to remain in this quiet spot, or at least 
to return there when she had seen her relations at 
Marcourt ; but the farm belonged to the monks of 
Saint-Hubert, and they could not give her a lodging. 



1 86 A Woman of the Revolution 

At last she reached her native village. ^' I cannot 
express the pleasure I felt," she said, " in arriving, 
the joy of seeing my village again, the house where 
I was born, my uncle, and indeed my early comrades. 
I quite forgot about the French Revolution. Every 
evening I went to the veillee, when with my friends 
I joined in all the games of my youth. On Sundays 
we went to dance, to run, and to play at prisoner's 
base in the open meadows." 

She had a dispute with the village miller because, 
as she thought, he charged too much for his flour, 
but he answered her rudely when she spoke to him 
about it, and she could not get him to look at the 
matter from the people's point of view. She also 
thought it wrong of the cure to accept an income 
for his work whilst his parishioners were practically 
starving. But, because she had known him in the 
days of her childhood, she wrote a letter to Perregaux 
begging him to send a hundred crowns that he might 
distribute it amongst the poor, and then she changed 
her mind, and ordered the amount to be spent in 
warm underclothing, because the curi would not 
accept a gift of money. 

She had not forgotten any of her old friends, and 
never grew tired of telling stories about the wonderful 
things she had seen and done in the Revolution. 
" She boasted of having prevented the Queen from 
leaving France, and showed proudly a fragment of 
one of her diamond necklaces," says De Goncourt. 
" She gathered the young men together, questioned 
them closely, taught them the revolutionary ideas and 
songs that were in vogue in Paris, and spread the 



Flight and Capture 187 

spirit of revolt around her." If it be true that she 
did any of these things she was very careful not to 
say so. The reference to the Queen's necklace may 
be regarded as absurd. The jewels she had in her 
possession were her own. 

After staying in Marcourt for a month, Theroigne 
left there to go to Liege, where her brother Pierre 
was awaiting her arrival. The regret she felt at 
saying good-bye to the friends of her early youth 
was counterbalanced by the hope of continuing her 
musical studies at Liege. 

She travelled by boat to this city, and the boat- 
man recommended an inn he knew. Whilst she was 
waiting there for a room to be made ready for her, 
she went into the common sitting-room, which was 
crowded with Flemings. At first she thought they 
were patriots, but she found that their opinions differed 
vastly from her own and that it was impossible to carry 
on a fair argument. She left the room to escape from 
their unpleasant remarks. 

The very next day her brother fetched her from 
Liege and took her to La Boverie, a little village 
half a league away, where she stayed at the White 
Cross Inn. For a time she lived there very quietly, 
seeing no friends, taking no part in the public meet- 
ings or gatherings held at Liege, and, indeed, rarely 
leaving her lodgings except to fetch the Gazette and 
other journals from a bookseller's shop in the neigh- 
bouring town. She soon found the country dreary. 
She missed the stir and excitement of the Revolution. 
She dared not confess that she would have liked to 
return to Paris, but she spoke of going to Brabant 



1 88 A Woman of the Revolution 

instead. She went so far as to take out her pass- 
port, and then changed her mind. She felt that she 
had not enough money to indulge this fancy, and 
discarded it for the sake of her brothers. The only 
way to save expense was to remain in her retreat. 
If she left it she would be wronging those who were 
dependent on her. By this time she had pawned her 
last diamond necklace. Her income had been antici- 
pated. Her board and lodging at La Boverie was 
costing her five crowns a month. Her banker, Perre- 
gaux, sent her only four louis every month. Many 
of her jewels, left at the Mont de Piete in Paris, 
had been sold because she could not afford to redeem 
them. 

The Mont de Piete was at that time a recent institu- 
tion in France. On December 9th, 1777, Louis XVL 
issued Letters Patent stating that the good effects 
produced by Monts de Piete in the different coun- 
tries and provinces of Europe, especially in Italy, 
Flanders, and Hainault, left no doubt that such 
establishments, both in Paris and in the principal 
towns in France, would result in advantage to the 
people. It was hoped that their existence would pre- 
vent the " disorders introduced by usury " which had 
ruined many families. Three days later Parlement 
registered the decree for governmental pawn-shops. 

\^Theroigne took advantage of this method of bor- 
rowing money. Between June 1789 and May 1790 
she had pledged valuables to the extent of between 
seven and eight thousands of livres, consisting of 
gold and diamond bracelets, sets of silver plate and 
spoons, cruets and stoppers, a golden casket, and 



Flight and Capture 189 

diamond rings, earrings, and a necklace. The rule 
was that the securities for loans were kept for a 
year, and, if not claimed by then, were sold a month 
later. 

Theroigne's last jewel was pledged at Liege, and 
afterwards her letters to M. Perregaux, whilst they 
make clear her devotion to her brothers, deal chiefly 
with her increasing financial straits. 

"I thank you very much for having sent me the 
report of the proceedings of the Chatelet," she wrote 
on October 1 6th, " and I must thank you also for 
having accepted the little arrangement which I pro- 
posed to you. If you will kindly advance three 
months' money to rhy brother, in order that he may 
have my things returned, you will greatly please me. 
According to our arrangement of four louis a month, 
that will be twelve louis you will have to give him, 
and for three months you will send nothing to Li^ge. 
If my brother requires your help or advice in arrang- 
ing my little affairs, or in having my things returned 
to me more cheaply, I would be obliged, monsieur, 
if you would continue your kindness to me. I should 
be afraid of bothering you too much if I did not 
rely especially on the pleasure you have taken in 
helping me." 

She wrote to Perregaux again from Liege on De- 
cember 2nd, 1790, still referring to the pledged 
jewels. 

\ " Your letter was a very agreeable surprise to me 
when I saw from it that you had the kindness to 
redeem those of my effects which I had regarded as 
sold," she says. " I do not know how to express 



190 A Woman of the Revolution 

the gratitude with which the nobility of your act 
inspires me. I shall always remember your devotion. 
I accept your generous offer to redeem my bracelets 
and sell them when you can get a fair price for them. 
I shall leave it in your hands. As for the silver plate 
and the casket, please do not allow these to be sold. 

" I beg of you to send some one to pay the interest 
on a loan of eleven hundred livres, the term of which 
expires on the 9th of this month, and the acknow- 
ledgment of which I enclose in my letter with two 
others, one for a hundred and forty livres and the 
other for ninety Hvres. If the ejfFects referred to in 
the two last have been sold they will give you the 
balance due, if they are not I should be grateful if 
you would redeem them, and hope that you will soon 
be able to sell the bracelet and recoup yourself for 
your further advances. I still have a number of 
diamonds to sell, and should like to get rid of them, 
as the interest is ruinous. 1 will send you my contract 
immediately, with the other papers, so that you will 
know what M. de Persan owes me. You have 
promised to help me with your advice, so that I and 
my brothers may be paid, and for this we shall be 
eternally grateful to you. 

" I am subscribing to the Journal de lySg, which 
I wish to receive at Liege. It will be necessary to 
add a trifle for this. You will do me a great favour 
if you send the enclosed receipt to the office of the 
paper and arrange this little matter for me. I ask 
you to do a great many things, don't I ? If you dare 
to say ' yes,' you will deal me a terrible blow." It is 
not often Theroigne gives such a feminine touch 



Flight and Capture 191 

to her letters, but her constant demands for money 
grow rather wearisome. 

Her dislike of inactivity soon became overwhelming, 
and her restlessness increased every time she walked in 
the meadows of La Boverie or on the banks of the 
Meuse and met groups of patriots from Brabant. She 
could hear the roar of distant cannon, and her curiosity 
to learn the result of the fighting was so intense that 
she questioned those she met. Then a strange thing 
took place. She was suspected of being an imperial 
spy, and was arrested and taken to Tilleur, where she 
speedily undeceived her captors and told them her real 
views. Nevertheless, because they were not satisfied 
with her statements regarding van der Noot, they 
wanted to take her to Namur. Her eldest brother and 
the people at the White Cross Inn did their best to 
see that she was set free at the first possible moment. 
" It is true I was a patriot," she says, " but not with 
the same principles as van der Noot, for I never sup- 
ported the nobility and I did not see that it was 
necessary for my country to declare its independence. 
I only desired that the people should be represented 
and that abuses should be removed." 

To understand Theroigne's attitude towards van der 
Noot, it is necessary to remember that the third estate 
of Brabant was upholding the very principles of the 
social and political system which the third estate in 
France was seeking to destroy. Joseph II. represented 
in many ways the progressive spirit of the day and, 
finding the estates intractable, dissolved them and 
cancelled the form of constitution known as the 
Joyous Entry, together with the ancient liberties of 



192 A Woman of the Revolution 

the province. Hendrik van der Noot, advocate to the 
sovereign council of Brabant, a man of but mediocre 
talents, though courageous and animated by his love 
of justice, became the people's idol and organised a 
riot in Brussels which spread throughout the district. 
Van der Noot was closely identified with the cause of 
malcontent hierarchy. He published a " Memoir on 
the Rights of the People of Brabant," but his teachings 
were disputed by a growing democratic party which 
had imbibed French theories from the emissaries of 
that country, who were busy in 1790 in inciting the 
masses to demand a free National Assembly on the 
principle of their own. The Congress at Brussels 
employed force against the rebels. On the accession of 
Leopold, he offered, as already stated, to restore the 
liberties of the Austrian Netherlands of which they 
had been deprived in his brother Joseph's reign, and 
demanded in return that the province should swear 
allegiance to himself. If his terms were not accepted 
by November 21st he threatened to enforce them, and 
sent soldiers to supplement the Austrian troops already 
at Luxemburg. The republican leaders made a vain 
effort to improve the position, and Leopold, refusing to 
grant an extension of time for consideration, dispatched 
troops on the 22nd of the month to Brussels. Re- 
sistance was impossible. Van der Noot and his col- 
leagues fled, the Congress dissolved itself, and the 
Belgian Republic, after being in existence but a few 
months, ceased to be. 

Mrs. Elliott, who was in Brussels in the spring of 
1 790, saw something of the revolt in the Low Countries. 
When she desired to leave for England, permission 



Flight and Capture 193 

was refused her, and in an interview with van der 
Noot she learned that this was because she was sus- 
pected of being of the party of the Due d'Orleans. 
She assured him that this was not so ; that she always 
was a royalist and ever should be such ; that she was 
neither a van der Nootist nor a Vonckist. *' I wit- 
nessed many terrible scenes in Brussels, similar to those 
in France," writes Mrs. Elliott. " I saw poor creatures 
murdered in the streets because they did not pull their 
hats ojff to Capuchins, or for passing a bust of van der 
Noot without bowing very low. His busts were all 
over the town and even in the theatres. Van der Noot 
was a very odd-looking man. He was, I fancy, about 
forty, rather tall and thin. He was full of vivacity, 
and did not look ill-natured, though very ugly. I 
never shall forget his dress. It was a Quaker-coloured 
silk coat lined with pink and narrow silver-lace, a white 
dimity waistcoat, white cotton stockings, net ruffles 
with fringe round them, and a powdered bob-wig." 

On the subject of van der Noot's flight, Theroigne 
wrote in her letter of December 2nd to Perregaux: 
" You know doubtless that the Estates, van der Noot 
and his satellites, formerly the idols of the people, who 
have to-day become the object of their hate and their 
mistrust, have been treated as they deserved. Mme 
Pineau's house has been pillaged, van der Noot has had 
to save himself from the just vengeance of the people 
whom he betrayed and sacrificed to his personal interests, 
and they have tried in vain to rekindle fanaticism by 
renewed processions, which have not had the slightest 
influence on the spirit of the people, who have had their 
eyes opened. They say that in the end the party of 



194 A Woman of the Revolution 

aristocrats and royalists will be crushed by one of the 
democrats, who, in conjunction with our old general 
released from the prisons of Louvain, rallies the people 
to resist the Austrians who are already at Namur." 

Now, the general to whom Theroigne referred was 
van der Meersch, who had at first commanded the 
insurrectionary troops. He followed Vonck, the leader 
of the democrats, and was imprisoned by the Estates 
and not set free until the return of the Austrians. It 
was therefore impossible that he could have acted in 
the manner she indicated, and this mistake on her part 
goes to prove that she did no more than follow the 
course of events with interest from afar. 

It is natural enough that her presence near Liege 
should have given rise to suspicion. Emissaries, both 
women and men, were sent from France to Belgium 
in that year. In 1791 there appeared a little book 
entitled " Julie, Philosophe ou le bon Patriote," which 
purported to be the history of one of these women 
who became first the agent and afterwards the victim 
of the revolutions in Holland, Brabant, and France. 
The story went that Julie was charged by Mirabeau 
to play some such part as was falsely attributed to 
Theroigne. The said Julie was born in 1760, and 
had several lovers — the Chevalier de Morande and 
de Calonne in London, Mirabeau in Paris, and van 
der Noot in Brussels. Mirabeau dispatched her to 
the latter city in charge of a sealed packet addressed 
to van der Noot. The revolutionist received her 
literally with open arms. He was charmed with her, 
begged her to stay for dinner, invited her to supper, 
and in the end refused to let her go. Finally she 




LEOPOLD IL, EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA. 



195 



Flight and Capture 197 

broke away from him, and went over to the democratic 
party, and, as a Vonckist, gave vent to her revengeful 
feelings against van der Noot much in the same 
strain that Theroigne did when writing to Perregaux. 
Indeed, the warmth of feeling she put into her 
remarks to this friend contrast strangely with the 
colourless and guarded tone of her confessions under 
examination. In this same letter of December 2nd 
she gives him to understand that she was charmed 
to hear of Duport-Dutertre's appointment to be 
Keeper of the Seals. The advocate had won this 
post through the influence of Lafayette, replacing 
Champion de Cice. He was one of the presumed 
authors of the " Histoire de la Revolution par deux 
Amis de la Liber te," and ended his life on the scaifold 
in November 1793. 

" He alone will be charged with the notification of 
the decrees of the National Assembly," says Theroigne. 
'* This will enrage the party of the Blacks, who can 
no longer revenge themselves by trying to ridicule 
virtue. I hope that justice, patriotism, and good 
manners will accompany all the actions of the one 
whose elevation is an application of the principles of 
the rights of man and of the citizen, to which the 
King at first refused his acceptance ; by the choice 
of such a minister he appears to wish to turn away 
the just suspicions which his past conduct inspired. 
If this is in good faith, it is one more triumph for 
the Revolution. 

" I shall return to France in six months," she 
continues. " If I were there now I would present a 
cockade to the generous citizen who gave such a 
12 



198 A Woman of the Revolution 

good example by denouncing that infamous Assonville 
who bought votes to have himself elected Juge de 
Paix." And she begs him, if possible, to discover 
the name of this excellent patriot and send it to her 
when he writes, addressing his letter to M. Fran9ois 
Person, at Saint-Esprit couronne sur Meuse a Liege. 

But in her " Confessions " she says nothing of these 
opinions and enthusiasms, nor does she refer to her 
intention to return to Paris. On the contrary, she 
states that she settled down so happily among her 
relatives that she resolved never to return to France. 
Some of her cousins went to see her at La Boverie, 
and invited her to the fair at Xhoris. She went there 
accompanied by her brother, and stayed with her 
uncle, while Pierre returned to the White Cross Inn 
without her. Then she sent him to Paris to fetch 
her remaining belongings, and ordered him to bring 
back her younger brother, whom she could no longer 
afford to keep idle in the capital. They all met again 
at La Boverie. 

There was a distinct danger at this time that Liege 
and the surrounding country would become the centre 
of an insurrection. Numbers of soldiers were arriving 
every day, and it was said that they would be billeted 
on the inhabitants. Rumours to this effect made 
Theroigne decide to return to Xhoris and settle down 
there for a time. She went so far as to purchase a 
piece of land, and her uncle promised to give her a 
small house, for all of which she was to pay at her 
leisure. This plan was looked upon unfavourably 
by the authorities of the little village. Theroigne 
was still regarded with suspicion. Then it was found 



Flight and Capture 199 

that the situation at Li6ge was not as acute as had 
been feared. The Imperialist soldiers bore themselves 
with restraint, and there was no fighting. Again 
Theroigne changed her plans. She had not yet paid 
for her land, and so there was no reason why she 
should not return to La Boverie. She was still 
troubled because she had not received her income 
for three years, and she kept up the myth that fifteen 
thousand livres were owing to her. At any rate, she 
made the story serve as a good excuse for a journey 
to Paris, which was to have the ostensible reason of 
looking after her business affairs. But when she had 
taken out a fresh passport, her brothers objected to 
her departure. They feared — who can say what } 
Perhaps that she would be arrested and imprisoned ; 
at the best that she would become unsettled and be 
drawn again into the dangerous stream of a political 
career. After much discussion, Th6roigne abandoned 
her plan, and to all appearances settled down to a 
hum-drum country life, commenced a new course of 
study, and busied herself in guarding her brothers' 
interests. She invested in a new supply of linen, 
and was about to make other changes in her household 
arrangements, when a thunderbolt fell. She was 
captured by aristocrats. In her picturesque language 
she says : *' They achieved a masterpiece by drawing 
me pitilessly from my lair and arresting me without 
the slightest grounds for their action." 

And she maintained her innocence to the last. 

The Austrians entered Liege on January 12th, 1791. 
On February 15th the Comte de la Valette, with his 
companions, the Comte de Saint-Malon and a sub- 



loo A Woman of the Revolution 

officer Lechoux, captured Theroigne by a ruse at La 
Boverie. They had official authority for their daring 
act. Mercy- Argenteau, at that time ambassador to 
the Emperor in the Low Countries, addressed a letter 
to Kaunitz on February 6th, in which he wrote : 
*' Zealots are arriving here. There is one of the name 
of Carra in the country, who is an enemy to all 
authority, I shall have him closely watched. They 
also mention the woman called Theroigne de Mericourt, 
who was at the head of the Queen's enemies on 
October 5th and 6th. She is to be found in the 
province of Luxemburg, and carries on a correspond- 
ence with our enrages of Paris and of Liege. A 
Frenchman furnished with good letters of recommend- 
ation came to ask my permission to kidnap her secretly, 
herself and her papers ; I gave my sanction, and ordered 
the escort to be strengthened by a small mounted 
patrol. If the capture is made they will conduct the 
prisoner to Freiburg, there to await whatever fate may 
be decided upon as most suitable for her." 

It was only natural that the man who had spent 
long and laborious years in safeguarding the interests 
of Marie-Antoinette should be strongly prejudiced 
against any one whose good faith towards the Queen 
had been impugned by so much as a breath of sus- 
picion. Theroigne, however innocent she may have 
been otherwise, had allowed her tongue free rein. 
This fact alone, and it must have reached his ears, was 
enough to make Mercy- Argenteau judge her unheard. 
Nor was it only the minister who judged. The press 
had a great deal to say in the matter ; much of it 
humorous, some of it serious. 



Flight and Capture 201 

The Journal Qeneral announced the news of her 
arrest in these terms : *' The well-beloved of Populus, 
the confidante of Mirabeau, the famous Theroigne, has 
been arrested near Luxemburg, and conducted to Vienna 
in Austria. They assert that the Jacobins Club intends 
to send an army of five hundred thousand National 
Guards to menace the Emperor if he refuses to 
release this heroine, since it is of importance to their 
principal members that she should not betray their 
secrets." 

The Moniteur of April loth states in its correspond- 
ence from Vienna of March 1 9th that '' People speak 
of a prisoner of state who is being brought to Vienna ; 
they presume arriving from the Low Countries (it is 
said from Brussels). Rumour reports that this indi- 
vidual is a woman who made herself conspicuous in 
France during the Revolution. They call her Mile 
Theroigne de M^ricourt. The oddest remarks are 
made on this subject. They presume that this girl, 
being implicated by the proceedings commenced by the 
Court of the Chatelet in Paris concerning the fatal days 
of October 5th and 6th, 1789, and having taken to 
flight, the Emperor has the right to have her seized 
on his territory, and that His Imperial Majesty has 
also the right to have her judged by his tribunals, and 
even to condemn her to the extreme penalty of the 
law. This revolting absurdity is only worthy of 
refutation. It would be ignominious for the subjects 
of the Emperor to suspect His Imperial Majesty of 
being capable of such an attempt, in which indignity 
would be allied with barbarism." 

The royalists rejoiced greatly when they heard of the 



202 A Woman of the Revolution 

arrest of Theroigne. They celebrated the event of 
her consequent death in verses, beginning : 

Ecoutez, grande nation, 

Et pretez grande attention : 

La demoiselle Theroigne 

Vient d'attraper un coup de peigne 

Qui defrise ses grands projets : 

Helas ! c'6taient de grands forfaits ! 

and concluding : 

Et tandis que nous devisons 
Avec nos petites chansons, 
Autour du cou de la donzelle, 
Un bourreau tourne une ficelle. 
Pleurez, malheureux Populus, 
Car votre maitresse n'est plus ! 

Fortunately for Theroigne things were not quite as 
bad as that. She had not suffered the extreme penalty 
of the law. 

The idea that Theroigne had left Paris in 1790 to 
fulfil a revolutionary mission in her own country was 
developed in a pamphlet by M. Carra, dated April ist, 
which denounced Marechal Bender to the Jacobins. 

" The society," said the denunciation, " sent Mile 
Thdroigne to complete the great work of propaganda 
in Brabant. This heroine merited this flattering dis- 
tinction in every way. She had given proofs of her 
powers on the ever-memorable days of October 5 th 
and 6th. Since this epoch Mile Theroigne has rendered 
the most important services to the society. Her 
indefatigable zeal and her unceasing activity have made 
more proselytes than the papers of our most celebrated 
journalists could ever do. You know, gentlemen, that 
I am more given by nature to injure than to praise 



Flight and Capture 203 

people ; you know, besides, that Mme Carra, my honour- 
able spouse, merits and possesses all my afFections ; so 
that there is no reason why you should suspect my 
motives or my good faith when I shower praise upon 
the illustrious lady for whom we are all weeping. 

'* Mile Mericourt left Paris after having received our 
orders, and being well furnished with assignats, to go 
and execute our schemes. Four or five zealous patriots 
set off in her company, in order to co-operate with all 
their might in the propagation of the great movement. 
She started by making an opening at Brussels, but 
found this stage unworthy of her talents. She made, 
I can assure you, some important conquests in very 
little time by the aid of assignats and punch, of punch 
and assignats. Already many of the Brabant people 
had adopted our principles, already general feeling was 
veering over to our side. I was already flattering 
myself that I should see my patriotic works made 
welcome in this country, already I had made my 
creditors understand that the results of our subscriptions 
for the Annals of the club would be sufficient to pay 
my debts — and all this as a result of the invaluable 
assistance of Mile Theroigne de Mericourt. Oh, 
shame, oh, despair ! Mile Theroigne has been 
hanged, and our projects have come to naught." 

He then went on to say that Marechal Bender, " the 
inhuman monster derived from the forests of Hungary," 
failing to be moved by the charms of the nymphlike 
Theroigne, had seized her person, and had had her 
executed in a twinkling of an eye, chasing her fellow 
workers out of Brabant. After a further out-pouring 
of his wrath against the said Marechal Bender a 



204 A Woman of the Revolution 

resolution was passed that he should be hanged for 
hanging the immortal Theroigne. 

The royalist journal, the Feuille du Jour^ of March 
1st, 1 791, after saying that Theroigne had been arrested 
by French officers, went on half in joke, half seriously : 
*'They say that having learnt that Mile Theroigne 
was at Namur, these young soldiers went there, de- 
manded dinner, paid their court to her ; and since Mile 
Theroigne, in exercising the apostleship, has not re- 
nounced the benefices of gallantry, the gentlemen in 
question had no trouble in overcoming her scruples. 
In the effusion of her confidence and love she divulged 
the motives and secrets of her mission and gave up 
all her papers relating to matters in Brabant. They 
believed that she was dangerous enough to have her 
pointed out to the Government and to see that she was 
taken prisoner. Some declared that they only saw 
fit to give her up out of spite when they recognised 
that her health was no better than her politics." 

This scurrilous paper added to its suggestive re- 
marks that " the Comte de Mercy-Argenteau had 
reassured her fully, telling her that she was safe from 
all peril so long as nothing was laid to her charge ; 
but if the suspicions against her were confirmed, he 
would use all his influence and all his credit to have 
her hanged." Before the end of the month they had 
completed her sentence. " They say that Mile 
Theroigne has been hanged. Weep, oh friends ..." 

The pessimistic views taken by these journals were 
never destined to be literally fulfilled, but the truth 
was serious enough to affect the victim of the capture 
and her friends to a considerable degree. 



Flight and Capture 205 

Theroigne's arrest made a great impression on her 
brothers. The eldest wrote to Perregaux to tell him 
that she had disappeared. " They say my sister has 
been taken back to Paris by the police. If that is 
the case, can she have been kidnapped by force by any 
lover that she may have in the capital, or has she been 
accused of anything .'' Monsieur, I implore you to 
use every possible means to secure her release, and to 
inform me at the same time who could have occasioned 
this nocturnal removal. You would greatly oblige 
not only my said sister but also myself, being a great 
help to me in my suspense. ..." 

The reference to Theroigne's possible lovers has 
been taken as prejudicial to the Minerva-like attitude 
she was supposed to have adopted since her return 
to Italy. But it seems natural enough that her brother, 
not knowing, or not wishing to appear to know, of 
what political crime she could be accused, should 
imagine her disappearance might bear a personal inter- 
pretation. 

A great deal of Theroigne's charm lies in the fact 
that mystery constantly surrounds her actions. Ap- 
parently innocent and without reproach, invariably 
able to convince her accusers of her own uprightness 
when brought into personal contact with them, the 
impartial judge, when far removed from the bewilder- 
ment engendered by her presence and naive assertions, 
cannot fail to be assailed by many a doubt. She had 
had more than one lover in her youth, then why this 
sudden return to virtue unless, as has been suggested, 
her health had been destroyed by her mode of living ? 
She had taken an active and earnest part in the 



2o6 A Woman of the Revolution 

revolutionary movement in Paris, then why this ab- 
solute collapse of enthusiasm when living in a district 
of the Low Countries where as strong an undercurrent 
of revolt existed ? She had never joined in any plot 
for the removal of the Queen, then why the determined 
persecution by the French emigres ? She had, in short, 
been but one of a thousand with similar aims and had 
done nothing to justify her being singled from the 
crowd for vilification, then why the unceasing diatribes 
of the royalist press ? These are problems it is not 
easy to answer. Innocent or not, Theroigne was to 
suffer penalty for even the appearance of guilt. 

Meanwhile she was being borne relentlessly farther 
and farther from her home and from all those she 
loved. At Coblenz her captors were hailed by the 
people as saviours of the monarchy. The news of 
the identity of the prisoner had spread like wildfire and 
the emigres gave a special banquet to celebrate the 
event. They drank to the glory of France, and were 
convinced that the secrets of the revolutionists were 
now at their mercy. From Coblenz the way led 
through Worms, where they stayed to greet the Prince 
de Conde, who had chosen this spot as his retreat. 
Saint-Malon communicated the story of the arrest, 
and so awakened Conde's curiosity that he desired 
to see the beautiful captive, and approached her as 
she was seated in the carriage that was to bear her to 
prison. She received him with disdain and deliber- 
ately turned her back upon him, refusing to speak 
a word. 

After the carriage had left Worms, Saint-Malon 
upbraided her for her want of respect to a prince of 



Flight and Capture 207 

the blood, and went so far as to accuse her of ill- 
breeding. 

" Spare your words," she cried : " I do not need your 
advice. I know very well indeed to whom I owe 
respect." 

" You are getting angry," said Saint-Malon. 

" Not at all. But no true patriot can honestly greet 
the Prince de Conde," she continued. " He is one of 
the worst enemies of the nation. Here, even, in this 
foreign country, he incites and foments intrigues 
against France. All the world knows the treason of 
which the Prince is guilty. He is a traitor." And 
then remembering that her words might be a menace 
to her own safety, she became suddenly silent. 

This did not altogether suit the plan of her captors. 
They wanted to strike while the iron was hot, to force 
some admission from her which might be a condemna- 
tion from her own lips. They tried every means in 
their power — threats, cajoling, anger, pleading, and even 
love-making and flattery. " 1 cannot believe," said 
Saint-Malon, *' that you, so pretty, so fascinating, have 
renounced love for ever. Hear me, I beg of you. 
You must know that I love you tenderly ; you are 
divine. I can no longer be silent. Give me leave 
respectfully to kiss your little white hands, fresh as the 
petals of the clematis." 

He tried to seize her hand. She withdrew it 
roughly, then he endeavoured to slip one arm about 
her, and she, poor girl, unprotected and at the mercy 
of a scoundrel, struck at him savagely. Maddened^ by 
this insult, he threw aside his mask and disclosed him- 
self in his true colours of a jailer. 



2o8 A Woman of the Revolution 

" Your conduct will cost you dear, mademoiselle ; 
you will not soon forget me." 

*' And yours has been such that I could not forget 
you if I would, monsieur. I shall always think of you 
as a man I despise and hate with all my soul," she 
replied hotly. 

He gave her one more chance of reflecting, and 
promised to help her if she would answer all his 
questions frankly. 

" 1 can only reflect that you wish to set a trap for 
me," she said, and added nothing but the assurance of 
her innocence and good faith. 

The five days' journey from Coblenz to Freiburg 
was a period of misery, both mental and physical, to 
the prisoner. She arrived at the latter town in a state 
bordering on collapse. 

Freiburg, in Breisgau, was then an important Austrian 
garrison town. The Commander, Colonel Rudler von 
GreifFenstein, had his hands full at that time keeping 
order in the place, on account of the number of French 
emigres who took refuge there, and the disturbances 
and conspiracies consequent on their presence. Her 
captors lodged Theroigne at the Negre Inn, and were 
so fearful lest she should escape them that they asked 
the commander to allow them to have military help in 
guarding her. 

Freiburg was chiefly of importance, as far as 
Theroigne was concerned, because it was there that 
her escort was changed and she was well-rid of the 
importunate Saint-Malon. Her new guardian, the 
Baron de Landresc, who had received orders to take 
her to Kufstein, was a very different kind of man. 



Flight and Capture 209 

He treated his prisoner with kindness and respect. 
The Baron and Th^roigne, accompanied by two or 
three officers, left Freiburg on March 9th with the 
ostensible object of journeying to Innsbruck and 
Vienna. 

When she heard that she was to be taken to the 
Austrian capital, Th6roigne could hardly contain her 
excitement. " The Emperor is at Vienna," she cried ; 
" 1 will ask for an audience. I shall have speech with 
him, and he will hear me. I can tell the Court of 
Austria the most astonishing things." 

As they proceeded towards Altdorf, Theroigne began 
to show more friendliness towards the Baron. She 
felt that he was well-disposed towards her, and began 
to chatter freely. "As you are aware," she began, 
" I have joined the patriots and taken up the noble 
cause of the people. Our motto is Liberty and 
Equality. I am devoting all my efforts to promote 
the general welfare. Even women have their share 
of work to do, and can help mightily in furthering the 
progress of civilisation. It is only necessary that their 
desire to do so should be strong enough. It ought 
to be the aim of every well-born individual to succour 
the unfortunate and the oppressed. In this great work 
there need be no distinction made between men and 
women." 

She denied utterly that the part she had played in 
the Revolution was an active one. " I refused to be 
drawn into any plot or cabal," she maintained. '* This 
fact has made me wonder over and over again how 
I come to be in this position. I have never committed 
a crime. I am innocent. It is true that I took an 



^lo A Woman of the Revolution 

interest in political questions, but I did what a hundred 
thousand other people have done. Logically speaking, 
then, if I am to be put in prison, they too should 
share my fate." 

The next stopping-place was Innsbruck, which was 
usually a sleepy little town. But the arrival of a fair 
political prisoner had been reported in the newspapers, 
and the inhabitants one and all turned out to see her. 
When the carriage and four in which she travelled 
rolled up, the market-place was crowded, and Landresc, 
concerned for the security of his prisoner, hurried her 
into the inn. The Archduchess Elizabeth, who was 
then at Innsbruck, was vastly interested in Th^roigne, 
and commanded an interview. It is not on record 
whether the daughter of the people made one of 
her usual blunt speeches against the aristocracy and 
monarchy on this occasion. 

At Schwaz Theroigne was taken ill, and though she 
struggled on as far as Woergl, she declared at this 
little village that she could travel no farther, and 
demanded a particular kind of medicine to mitigate 
her fever. The Baron was in a dilemma. He was 
not convinced that her attack of illness was genuine. 
He feared she might be contemplating some plan of 
escape. Nor did he think it wise to give her medicine 
of her own prescribing. How was he to be sure that 
it did not contain some deadly poison which would 
rob the aristocrats of their prey .? To make security 
doubly sure he made the apothecary swear that 
the stuff was innocuous, and even went so far as 
to swallow a dose himself as a precaution against 
treachery. 



Flight and Capture 21 1 

As soon as Thdroigne felt better and was able to 
continue the journey, she expressed her earnest wish 
to hasten on to Vienna, convinced that there she 
would be allowed to resume her liberty. Landresc 
was faced with the difficult task of teUing her the 
truth — that he had been ordered to conduct her as far 
as the fortress of Kufstein, and that there he was to 
leave her. At this news Th6roigne was overcome by 
despair. Her evident grief and distress softened the 
Baron's heart. Th^roigne had the gift of knowing 
how to work on any man's feelings. She asked a last 
favour of him. 

" You are the only friend I have left," she pleaded. 
*' Think how disconsolate those must be who once 
cared for me and do not now know where I am 
or what has happened to me. My poor brother, who 
loves me tenderly " 

" But what can I do ? " interrupted the Baron. 

" Help me to communicate with Pierre. Deliver 
a letter to him. I should feel gratitude towards you 
until my dying day." 

The Baron uttered not a word. To consent to 
serve as an intermediary for a State prisoner, to help 
her to correspond with her relatives, would be to defy 
all regulations, and to lay himself open to the gravest 
consequences. 

It says something for Theroigne's persuasive powers 
that even here she obtained her desire. The letter 
was written, was sent off, and reached its destination 
in due course. It would be indiscreet to expect to 
know definitely by whose timely assistance this came 
to pass. 



212 A Woman of theJRevoIution 

The letter contained some account of her arrest : 

" My dear Brother," she writes, 

" Among the individuals who have seized my 
person there were two French officers and one im- 
periaux. They did not show me any special order. 
1 do not know by whose instructions nor why I 
have been arrested, which is terrible. The two French- 
men informed me verbally, however, that it was on 
account of the aifairs of Brabant, but I saw that it 
was quite the contrary, for they never ceased to 
question me on the events of the French Revolution. 
They even employed a ruse and finesse, pretending 
to be just and honest, with the intention of drawing 
out my confidences. They did not raise their masks 
until we reached Freiburg, where they showed the 
greatest enmity against the patriots and the greatest 
interest in finding me guilty." 

She begged her brother to go to Vienna at once, 
and to ask permission from the Emperor for her to 
be taken there so that he might hear her own version 
of the affair. " I would give everything that I have," 
she declared, "for the chance of speaking to the 
Emperor, for I feel certain that he did not give orders 
for my arrest." The thought of sleeping in a prison 
terrified her, she said, and she complained of ill-health, 
fearing she knew not what evil consequences if she 
were not speedily released. 

But Pierre-Joseph did not dream of going to Vienna. 
He dreaded lest he should be implicated in his sister's 
alleged plots. Instead, he appealed once more to 
Perregaux, telling him that he had received a letter 




'^4 




THEROIGNE DE iMKRICOURT. 

From a crayon drawing bj' Danlou in the possession of M. le Vicomte de Reiset 
and reproduced by kind permission of the owner. 



Flight and Capture ^i^ 

from his sister since her disappearance. In order to 
keep him informed of what was going on, and be- 
cause he wanted him to help in freeing her, he sent 
him her letter. *' But you know," he writes, ** that 
since the day of her capture I have followed up her 
affairs keenly with my aunt at Liege, yet all our en- 
deavours have been fruitless." Theroigne's enemies 
were not content with seizing her person ; they cal- 
umniated her, he stated, in all the public journals. 
Her aunt had employed two lawyers, who agreed that 
a memoir should be printed containing her justification, 
that it should be published in Paris, and that a 
deputy of the Assembly should be found who would 
take the trouble to write to Mercy- Argenteau, and to 
send him a copy of the memoir. Pierre asked Perre- 
gaux to help him with the printing of this document, 
which could not be done at Liege, as it was forbidden 
to print anything without the permission of the 
authorities, and it was not possible for him to present 
himself for the purpose of gaining permission. 

*' I have learnt," continues Theroigne's brother, 
" that M. FAbbd Sieyes has spoken several times very 

kindly of my sister to M. . This man was 

deputy for Liege at Paris during the Revolution. I 
am sure that if we explained things as they are to 
him he would gladly take it upon himself to write 
to Brussels." He then begged Perregaux to ask his 
brother to see about this matter, and to speak to the 
deputy, who had known Theroigne well, because it 
was unlikely that he would think harshly of the faults 
she had committed in France, which, moreover, were 
already relegated to oblivion because the National 
13 



21 6 A Woman of the Revolution 

Assembly had issued a decree cancelling all the warrants 
of arrest. 

" I am examining the papers," concludes Pierre- 
Joseph, " but you will see more clearly than I how 
to act for the best. I shall owe you a debt of eternal 
gratitude, and would gladly pay it by shedding my 
blood for you." 

From this letter it is apparent that Theroigne's 
brother was not entirely convinced of her innocence. 
Possibly he too was mystified by the extraordinary 
inconsistencies in her character. 

Whilst these negotiations were being undertaken 
on her behalf Thdroigne was passing through new 
and unpleasant experiences. 



CHAPTER VI 

KUFSTEIN 

ON the frontiers of the Tyrol and Bavaria stands 
an imposing fortress, with dungeons and battle- 
ments, dominating the surrounding country. Art, 
brought to bear upon remarkable natural qualifications, 
rendered this place practically impregnable. 

It was March 1 7th, at nine o'clock in the morning, 
when Theroigne and her escort arrived before the 
forbidding walls of Kufstein. She was overwhelmed 
by dread at the thought of the fate in store for her. 
" Unfortunate being that I am," she cried. " I have 
been condemned — innocent, I swear it — to a convict's 
cell, to unheard-of tribulations and sufferings. What 
you have been told of me, monsieur, is an infamous 
calumny. Help me to escape from the doom that 
awaits me." 

Landresc, deeply moved by her piteous plight, 
turned away his head. 

She sobbed, she gave way to hysterical shrieks, she 
declared it would be better to die at once than to 
endure captivity. Nothing could calm her. 

Presently the governor of the prison, Captain 

Andre Schceniger, appeared upon the scene. He was 

accustomed to these outbreaks of despair. All the 

217 



2i8 A Woman of the Revolution 

prisoners enacted the same tragedy in a lesser or 
greater degree. All declared themselves martyrs. 

Schoeniger had been well prepared for the kind 
of prisoner he had to expect. He had been instructed 
to have her strictly guarded, but she was to be treated 
humanely. There was to be no brutality. 

The Captain himself conducted " Madame Theo- 
bald " to her cell. This was an unusual honour, 
rarely accorded to any prisoner, except those of 
peculiar distinction. 

The approach to the upper regions of the fortress 
was not one to inspire hope of freedom in the captive's 
breast. Hewn through huge and unscalable rocks, 
the way to the prison wound through a narrow and 
dark subterranean passage, up countless flights of 
stairs, climbing ever higher and higher into what 
was a well-nigh impenetrable fastness. After mounting 
more than two hundred steps a little court was 
reached, where there was a revolving bridge and 
massive doors heavily barred with iron. Once beyond 
that, and the prisoner said good-bye to the outer 
world — for who knows how long ? Then more 
mounting upward, in a tower this time, the way 
becoming more narrow and more gloomy, and the 
air more damp. At last a second door as black and 
solid as the first was reached. It led into the prison 
proper. Fainting and breathless the prisoner stood 
still, unable to move another step. Schoeniger, taking 
her by the arm, urged her on. No prisoner was 
allowed to loiter there. There was a second tower 
to mount, more of the huge stone steps built into 
walls so thick that no voice could echo there ; even 



Kuf stein 219 

the breath seemed stifled. Th6roigne felt she knew 
what burial alive would mean. 

The passage widened out into a vault, and that 
in turn into a courtyard, open to the sky at last. 
Round about were high walls containing many 
windows, strongly barred. And here every sign of 
the way they had come was lost. The four sides 
of the court appeared ahke in every particular. 
Which of the closed apertures was the one that led 
out of this horrible trap ? It was impossible to 
remember. How could any prisoner dwell for an 
instant on the thought of escape through those 
bewildering labyrinths of brick and rock, guarded 
as they were at regular intervals by armed sentries. 
Far better death than captivity in such a place ! 

The cell into which Theroigne was led was not 
terrible. It had two windows, one looking into the 
courtyard, the other into the surrounding mountains. 
The furniture was of white wood, and of the plainest 
description. It communicated with a room occupied 
by the sentry. No one could enter her apartment 
without being challenged by the guard. 

The captain ordered an inventory to be taken of 
the prisoner's possessions. They were not numerous. 
A hat, two gowns, a silk kerchief, a brown cloak 
trimmed with fur, a muff, two pairs of shoes, four 
undergarments, five handkerchiefs, ten pairs of silk 
stockings, and a belt comprised the whole of her 
wardrobe. There was nothing like a riding-habit, 
and no weapons. 

The governor thought she was but ill provided for. 
Just then his eye fell upon some books. 



220 A Woman of the Revolution 

*' What have we here ? " he cried. 

The soldier read out the titles. Works of Seneca 
complete works of de Mably, and Plato's Dialogues. 

"She must be a blue-stocking," said the governor, 
laughing ; but his manner implied a new accession of 
respect. 

There was nothing else to account for except a few 
silver spoons, some silver buttons, and other gewgaws. 
These were placed in a casket and locked away. The 
search ended, the governor retired, and the prisoner 
was left alone. She heard the heavy door close and 
the bolts shot. 

She fell on her knees and called for mercy. She 
wrung her hands, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

There was no answer to her cry. 

A week passed in a kind of mental stupor ; she 
sobbed, she raged, and then, worn out, she slept. At 
regular intervals meals were brought to her. She was 
allowed to choose her own food. Whenever the 
governor came into the room, which was fairly often, 
she asked him about her trial. " When will it begin ? " 
was her invariable question. 

*' I know nothing." His reply never altered. 

At last her longing for an occupation became so 
extreme that she plucked up courage and begged 
Schceniger to allow her to have a piano. " Music 
passes the time pleasantly," she said in her wheedling 
manner. 

The governor was dumbfounded at such an audacious 
request. 

*' I beg of you to obtain for me this harmless amuse- 



Kuf stein 221 

ment," she urged, wearing the air of innocence and 
childhke joyousness which never failed to fascinate. 

" Madame," he replied, endeavouring to speak 
sternly, " it is quite out of my power to procure 
you this privilege." 

"Oh ! " Her disappointment was evident from her 
voice. 

" But, you might " 

" What ? " She knew there was more to come. 
She was all eagerness. 

*' Well, write to Vienna to the Conseil de Guerre. 
It may be " 

She asked him sweetly whether he could not do her 
the favour of writing himself. She felt sure her 
request would have more weight coming from him. 
He had no power to refuse so simple a plea. As he 
was leaving the room she laid one hand on his arm. 

" Monsieur," she said, "just one thing more. Could 
you trace for me the three receipts which were taken 
from me at the time of my arrest. I asked them to 
send them to my brother Pierre. If they have gone 
astray the loss would be a serious one. The amount 
is some two thousand three hundred and eighty-four 
livres," 

To this the amenable ^governor", also agreed. He 
was treating the prisoner with enormous consideration. 
He sent for all the papers which had been seized at 
La Boverie. 

For a fortnight Theroigne was all impatience. Then 
the use of a piano was accorded her. She was over- 
joyed, and practised her singing every day. But soon 
the whple of her repertory was exhausted- It w^§ 



222 A Woman of the Revolution 

impossible to obtain any new music. When her 
memory failed her she attempted to improvise, but she 
did not care for her own compositions and soon 
exhausted her resources. Then she began to complain 
anew of the weariness of incarceration. 

Had she but been able to compare her lot with that 
to be endured throughout the Terror by the aristocrats 
in the French prisons, how happy she might have 
thought herself! She had light and air, good food 
and repose, her jailers were kind in the main, and 
her case was by no means hopeless, whilst they had 
none of these consolations and many unspeakable 
hardships. What were her sufferings when regarded 
in the light of the tortures and agony they were to 
undergo .? Penned by the score into tiny evil-smelling 
cells, into which the light of day hardly penetrated, fed 
on bad bread, putrifying meat, adulterated wine, and 
rotten vegetables, subjected to the vilest insults, coarse 
jests, and even physical violence, unable to utter a 
complaint lest a murmur should produce more terrible 
punishment still, they waited with smiling faces and 
brave mien to hear the creak of the tumbril and the 
click of the guillotine. 

But Theroigne knew nothing of these horrors, and 
felt her own sufferings well-nigh unendurable because 
her imagination called up nothing worse. Confinement 
in itself meant death to her. 

The governor, in order to dispel the stupor of 
misery into which she had fallen, told her that the 
examining magistrate, M. Francois Le Blanc, would 
arrive before long from his home in Constance, and 
that then the inquiry into her case would take place. 



Kufstein 223 

This news threw her into a state of great excitement. 
" When will he come ? To-morrow — the day after? " 
she asked eagerly. 

But no exact information was vouchsafed her. 

Spring was coming, and even the stern discipline of 
prison life seemed to relax somewhat under the benign 
influence of the gentler mood of the year. Theroigne 
was permitted to walk in an enclosed court, where the 
trees were in bud, and she could hear the singing of 
birds. 

The governor now showed her every care. He 
realised that she was taking her imprisonment too 
much to heart. Her health was breaking. She was 
troubled by hallucinations, torturing visions which 
unnerved her, and at night she suffered from ghastly 
dreams which left her sleepless. She sighed for her 
freedom, for her own country, for those she loved. 
There was no human being near her in whom she 
could confide. She was falling into a rapid decline. 
As the days passed Captain Schoeniger dreaded that he 
might lose his prisoner by death. 

On May 28th Le Blanc arrived. He asked for 
the prisoner's papers. He had already been assured 
that they contained nothing compromising. He had 
received his instructions from Prince Kaunitz. They 
were definite and, at the same time, lenient. Le 
Blanc's aim was to arrive if possible at the simple 
truth rather than to attempt to force a confession 
of guilt. 

" However probable it appears that the prisoner has 
committed the crime of high treason," ran his in- 
structions, ''it is impossible to have proof of it unless 



224 A Woman of the Revolution 

she furnishes it herself by her own confession. It 
is necessary, therefore, to ask her for a statement of 
the principal circumstances and conditions of her life 
in France as well as outside this country. It is 
indispensable to ascertain whether at any time in her 
life she played a public part, and if so, where, when, 
and how. Especially should it be made clear what 
part she took in the revolt of the women on 
October 6th, 1789. 

" The commissioner is authorised to say that he 
is not reflecting the views of the Emperor in making 
her feel the rigour of the law. A free and sincere 
confession would be preferred. She must show her- 
self worthy of the monarch's clemency. Moreover, 
the result of the inquiry will depend essentially on 
the agreement of her confession and depositions with 
the knowledge already obtained concerning the most 
salient points of her conduct. 

" Her fanatic enthusiasm for everything connected 
with the idea of democracy is well known. The 
prisoner should therefore be warned that the Court 
has in its hands several infallible means of recognising 
the truth of the answers she will make to the questions 
put to her. The least reticence, a single lie in her 
depositions, will suffice to class her in the category 
of persons suspected, dangerous, incorrigible, and who 
ought to be kept away from all chance of doing harm. 

*' In any case, all hope that she will ever see her 
country again must be destroyed. If, on the one 
hand, this causes her affliction, on the other she will 
feel more free to speak without fear and to adhere 
strictly to the truth. 



Kuf stein 225 

" Since, having nothing more to fear from the resent- 
ment of people who might be compromised by her 
admissions, and having no further interest in pro- 
pitiating those from whom she might expect ulterior 
advantages, she will keep back nothing of what she 
knows. 

" Evidently she has had relations with important 
people. Had she really the political influence with 
which opinion has endowed her.? In case this is 
answered in the affirmative, who are her accomplices, 
and what are their names ^ Why did she leave Paris 
to install herself near Liege? What does she know 
of the organisation of the Jacobins Club ? In what 
manner does she speak concerning the royal family 
of France ? " 

These are leading questions. Answered fully they 
would have left but little of Th6roigne's hopes, aims, 
and intentions to the imagination. 

On all other points Le Blanc was allowed latitude. 
It was his wish to inspire the prisoner with confidence. 

At their first interview Th^roigne promised to tell 
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth. 

Her interrogator commended this laudable decision. 
He assured her that the Austrian Government did not 
mean to punish her for any political crimes of which 
she might have been guilty in France. 

\"They have deceived the Emperor," she replied 
excitedly. ''By means of insidious reports, some 
persons have clearly influenced the prince by imputing 
to me certain views or actions, and this has been the 
cause of my detention But they will have to render 



226 A Woman of the Revolution 

me justice. They will realise that I am but a simple 
woman, charmed with the idea of liberty and the 
welfare of the people. In that I cannot be held to 
be guilty. On this account, and because you have 
said yourself that the Austrian Government is quite 
indifferent to my past doings in France, I hope for 
my release. Begin to question me as soon as you like. 
I am ready." 

Le Blanc told her that a few days would be given 
her for calm meditation, in order that she might go 
through the facts she had to tell carefully, and have 
them clear and exact in her own mind. This did not 
altogether please the prisoner. She had had so much 
time for calm meditation already that solitude had 
driven her almost crazy. Nor did the commissioner's 
next remark please her much better. He told her 
he had to wait for the clerk who was to draw up 
the inquiry in writing. 

" Is not that clerk one of the two Frenchmen who 
captured me and took me to Freiburg .'' " she inquired 
suddenly. 

Le Blanc was astounded by her perspicacity. 
" I know nothing," he answered evasively. " Surely, 
mademoiselle, you must be mistaken in thinking that 
your captors were Frenchmen. They were Dutch." 

" Dutch ? " she repeated. " Don't tell me they were 
Dutch. You have been ill informed, monsieur, or 
some one has been trying to deceive you, or, perhaps, 
you are trying to dupe me. I maintain against every- 
thing said to the contrary that my captors were officers 
and French aristocrats. I recognised them not only 
by the details of their military dress, but also by 



Kuf stein 227 

their caustic, insidious, and hateful manners — in short, 
by their discourteous treatment of me, and by their 
speech." And then she added angrily : " Moreover, 
monsieur, if one of those two Frenchmen comes here 
to perform the services of a clerk, I will not answer 
so much as a single syllable. I would die rather than 
be subjected to a process marked by such partiality. 
Having been born in the Low Countries, my sovereign 
can only be of the House of Hapsburg. And there- 
fore I have the right to be tried by no one but the 
Emperor's officials." 

Le Blanc was surprised to learn that she had not 
been born in France. 

She assured him that she was Austrian. 

" I will never consent to be judged by Frenchmen," 
she repeated more firmly than before, *' and most 
certainly not by one of those who seized me at La 
Boverie. Take care that I am never brought face to 
face with either of the rascals. They have reason 
to know already that they cannot force me to speak." 
She had in mind the intolerable degradation of the 
journey from Coblenz to Freiburg. 

Le Blanc was stupefied by her proud and obstinate 
bearing. He could never have believed that any one 
as much worn by illness as the prisoner could have 
shown such strength of will. He realised that she 
was not an ordinary woman. There was nothing 
vulgar about her manners ; no bold gestures, and 
no coarse tones. She had a large amount of personal 
magnetism, a powerful charm in which energy and 
grace made a strange contrast. Even the way she 
poured vituperation on the head of her captors, calling 



228 A Woman of the Revolution 

them vile, contemptible, wanting in tact, in education, 
even in humanity, had something of the sublime in it. 
She was the image of assaulted virtue pointing the 
finger of scorn at vice. It was Theroigne's gift to 
put others in the wrong and keep her own position 
unassailable. 

The story of her early youth and upbringing, and 
of her doings in Paris before the close of 1789, was 
told with a simplicity that was wonderfully clever. 

Her answers were put in writing, and she signed 
a document to the effect that the questions had been 
put to her by the investigating magistrate and were 
recognised by her as being those of His Majesty the 
Emperor and King, and that the responses were in 
substance those she had made. 

After she had been sworn the examination began 
in all seriousness on May 31st, and went on for some 
weeks, broken only by delays occasioned by the illness 
of the prisoner and the arrival of La Valette at Kufstein 
with his indictment against Theroigne, which included 
some 122 articles, and was entitled, " Dires et Aveux 
de Demoiselle Theroigne." Le Blanc exercised his 
authority in refusing to allow La Valette to be present 
at his interviews with the prisoner. 

In the course of the inquiry it was discovered that 
Th6roigne had communicated with her brother since 
she had been taken captive. She refused to disclose 
the means by which she had dispatched her letter. 

" You are trying to shield your accomplice," said 
Le Blanc ; *' is not that so ? " 

Theroigne grew red and turned away her eyes. 
She admitted that this was true. 



Kuf stein 229 

" Be frank and fear nothing," said the examining 
magistrate. *' Only tell me the truth." 

She remained immovable as a statue. Her face had 
grown pale. 

" I only desire to know the name of your accomplice. 
He shall not be punished." 

Still Th6roigne uttered not a word. 

" Mademoiselle, answer me," continued Le Blanc. 

" Monsieur, I must not speak. Have pity on me." 

" I give you my word of honour, no harm shall 
come to him." 

*' Will you give me a promise in writing ? " asked 
the prisoner glibly. 

Pained as he was by this evidence of her mistrust, 
Le Blanc agreed. He inquired carefully concerning 
the contents of the letter. Th6roigne could not re- 
member exactly what she had written. She was ac- 
cused of using the expression " I beg you to address 
yourself to the National Assembly in order that it 
may force the King to claim my freedom as a French- 
woman ? " / 

" If I used such a phrase," responded Th^roigne, 
" it was very stupid of me, because I am not a 
Frenchwoman. And if I wrote the words ' force the 
King' I employed an Improper term. The King of 
France cannot be forced. He can only be requested 
to put his laws Into execution. As for addressing 
myself to the National Assembly, which represents 
the sovereign, to whom In a free country the humblest 
individual can present a petition, I perhaps was within 
my rights in suggesting this. But I did not do It 
in spite of the right I had, which I can prove. I 



230 A Woman of the Revolution 

was kidnapped by French aristocrats who did not 
show me the Emperor's warrant. Therefore it is 
not surprising that I should believe they were acting 
on behalf of their own sovereign." 

She was told that her arrest had been ordered at 
Brussels by Mercy-Argenteau. 

"These same aristocrats," she added, unmoved by 
this information, " never ceased to insult me and to 
ridicule the officers of the French Army. I know 
nothing of the political aspect of my arrest. But, 
without a doubt, from whichever point of view it is 
considered, it was most certainly a malicious, base, and 
cruel trick. The intriguing underlings who conceived 
the sublime plan of arresting me will not remain 
triumphant. The Prince de Kaunitz, whose wisdom 
and supreme worth are known throughout Europe, 
and, above all, the Emperor, who has already made 
his reign illustrious by various deeds of justice and 
humanity, will recognise the fact that they have been 
deceived. Therefore I remain tranquil." 

This speech throws a fresh light on Th6roigne's 
intuition and her persuasive gifts. She was not stupid, 
la -petite Theroigne ; and being assured once more that 
no harm should come to her accomplice in the delivery 
of a letter to her brother, she gaily made a descrip- 
tion of an individual easily recognisable as the amiable 
but unfortunate Baron de Landresc. 

She was permitted to send another letter to her 
brother at Liege. It was dated June 26th, 1791. 

"I cannot express to you," she writes, "the regrets 
and grief which I have suffered from being deprived 
of your company for so long. You will have ex- 




231 



Kufstein ^33 

perlenced the same feelings. I have often imagined 
your sorrow and anxiety, and this has contributed no 
little in aggravating my sadness and exaggerating the 
misfortune of my captivity. Nevertheless I must 
render justice to the manner in which I am treated ; 
they take every possible care of me, but, in spite of 
that, my brother, it is always very hard to be deprived 
of liberty when one does not deserve it. I confess to 
you that I should prefer death to being deprived much 
longer of the pleasure of seeing you, my family, and 
my friends. However, you must reassure yourself, 
my brother, and reassure those who are interesting 
themselves on my account in this unfortunate affair ; 
for I have reason to hope much from the enlightened 
justice of his Imperial Majesty, who will free me as 
soon as he knows the truth. I hope to see you again 
before two months have passed. Imagine how much 
pleasure it will give me, after having had so much 
grief! Please express my thanks to those who have 
interested themselves on my behalf, and have taken 
steps to have me released. Give my kind remem- 
brances to all my friends ; say that I hope to have 
permission to write to them soon, and that I shall see 
them again before long — at least, they tell me I may 
hope that this will be so, and, if they do me justice, 
this hope will be realised. I have not the slightest 
doubt of that. 

" I do not know in the least how our affairs stand, 
my brother : whether you are still boarding with 
Francois Person ; whether you have enough money 
to pay for your lodgings ; whether you have had a 
coat made, for you were in need of one before I was 
14 



234 A Woman of the Revolution 

taken prisoner ; whether you have paid what I owe 
at La Boverie and at Xhoris ; and whether you have 
received three acknowledgments of loans from the 
Mont de Piete in Paris, which 1 gave to those who 
escorted me to prison in order that they might be 
remitted to you," 

One of these loans had already lapsed at the time 
of her arrest, but she hoped the others might be 
redeemed. She repeated herself in her anxiety to hear 
how her brothers were faring pecuniarily, and to be 
assured that they wanted for nothing. Then she went 
on to complain of her health, which she hoped would 
soon improve, and looked forward to the time when 
they should all live together as they had planned, 
"misfortune having ceased to dog their footsteps." 
She recommended her brother to study diligently, to 
take lessons from the same masters she had had before 
her arrest, and to send her as much news as possible. 

Her correspondence was, without doubt, intended 
for the eye of her jailers, who supervised all her 
letters. They struck a very domestic note. The 
most interesting of them, perhaps, and the one which 
throws most light on her tastes and habits, was written 
on July 29th, 1 79 1. 

" My dear brother," she began, " I will say no 
more of the impatience I have to see you again, for 
your own feelings will give you an idea of it. I am 
quite as anxious on your behalf as you can be on mine. 
What have you been doing } Where have you been 
all these six months that I have been in prison ? Are 
you continuing your studies, or have you had the 
misfortune, as a counter-blow to mine, to lose all 



Kuf stein 235 

this time owing to want of money or credit ? I am 
dying to hear your news. Where is my little brother ? 
Is he still at Xhoris, and is he studying ? Tell him 
to write to me. I keep feeling afraid that either of 
you should be wanting something, although you ought 
to have received the three hundred livres which I 
was expecting when they achieved the masterpiece of 
arresting me." And then she goes on to deplore their 
troubles, trusts there is money enough, and asks 
once more about the acknowledgments for her jewels. 
There is a great deal of repetition in her letters. 

" Unfortunately I do not yet know when I shall 
be able to see you again, but I still hope to have 
justice done me. I have been strictly forbidden to 
tell you anything concerning my affairs. I shall con- 
tent myself with telling you that I have been outside 
the fortress walking with MM. the Magistrate and the 
Commandant, and that I cannot go outside the prison 
nor receive anybody without the permission of these 
two gentlemen, who are very kind to me. 

*' Perhaps you have been obliged to sell my piano- 
forte for very little, in spite of the fact that it cost 
me thirty louis. That would grieve me, because I 
love music, and I shall no longer have the means to 
get another one ; but, after all, it is but a small mis- 
fortune. . . . Have you looked after our belongings 
at La Boverie ? I am afraid lest my dresses should be 
spoilt, especially the woollen ones, if you have not 
had them put out to air. Above all things, I re- 
commend my books to your care. Do not lend them 
to anybody. Use them for your instruction, and 
that of our brother. 



236 A Woman of the Revolution 

" Besides, you might ask the farmer's wife whether 
I forgot a parcel when I went off in the night with 
those who arrested me. The parcel contained some 
dresses, books of Seneca and de Mably.* Please go 
yourself and see whether it was not left on the table. 
And be sure and let me know if you have found it, 
or if the farmer's wife found it, yes or no. Do not 
forget to go yourself and look for the five volumes 
of Seneca's letters which were in the parcel, and three 
volumes of de Mably, and my Indian morning 
gowns." 

And then she proceeds to tell her brothers to study 
day and night, to arm themselves with noble pride, 
to remember that virtue is the only good, to write 
to her often, and to remember her kindly to her 
friends. 

Perhaps Theroigne's brothers were hardly worthy 
of the love and forethought she lavished upon them. 
The whole family seemed cursed with shiftlessness, 
which indicated that they came of a bad stock. 
Th^roigne had done her brothers but a mistaken 
kindness in providing for their wants from her own 
purse. If her gains were really ill-gotten, as appears 
to have been the case, she did them a very bad service 
indeed. No sooner was her support withdrawn than 
Pierre-Joseph, thrown upon his own resources, which 
were of a most unconvincing nature, was at his wit's 
end to discover any means of livelihood. He tried 
to obtain money from his sister's banker, Perregaux, 

* According to the inventory of Th6roigne's possessions taken by the 
governor at Kufstein, these books were in the parcel of her belongings 
there. It is possible she was kept in ignorance of this. 



Kuf stein 237 

from the sale of his sister's jewels, and from a certain 
Baron de Selys, governor of the principality of 
Stavelot, who had received Theroigne at his chateau 
in a more or less friendly spirit during her recent 
stay in the neighbourhood. It was said that Theroigne's 
father had once been the Baron's tenant, and that he 
had known her when she was a little girl. He had 
been inspired to renew the acquaintance partly by 
curiosity, partly by a desire to find out her views 
and her motive for leaving Paris and visiting her 
own country. In a letter dated October ist, 1791, 
he wrote that he had only invited her and her brothers 
so that he might be kept informed of their acquaint- 
ances, their doings, and any plans they might attempt 
to put into execution *' in order to be useful to the 
good cause." He took this step at the instigation 
of the Comte de Maillebois, who was the principal 
agent of the French emigre princes. As he learnt 
nothing which could in any way incriminate Theroigne, 
this would appear to be additional evidence in favour 
of her entire aloofness from an active part in the 
insurrection at Liege. 

Although he had little to complain of in her political 
attitude, his friendship for her was to be the cause 
of great annoyance in other directions, both domestic 
and financial. The Baron de Selys had married a 
charming lady some twenty years his junior, and had 
daughters of his own. Unaware of the risk of in- 
troducing a woman of Theroigne's character into the 
bosom of his family, or perhaps in spite of it, he had 
once or twice invited her to dine at his Chateau de 
Fanson. During these visits she had fulfilled their 



238 A Woman of the Revolution 

purpose by being emboldened to tell him some of 
her private affairs. In order to strengthen her pleasant 
relations with the Selys family Theroigne had asked 
to be allowed to give lessons on the harpsichord to 
his daughters. This privilege was refused her. More- 
over, it was discovered that during some walks they 
had taken in company she had given several French 
books to the eldest girl, who was called Victoire, 
and to prevent any such communication the parents 
took Victoire to Maestricht. The girl, however, 
found means to receive news of her friend. The 
mother discovered that letters passed between them, 
and this underhand traffic was put a stop to. Soon 
afterwards the family returned to Liege. 

On the first day of the year 1791, the Baron re- 
turning at midday to the Hotel de la Cour-de-France, 
where he was then staying with his family, found to 
his surprise that Theroigne was with his wife, and 
that she was weeping bitterly. Victoire was also in 
tears. Theroigne had met them as they were coming 
from mass, and followed them to the hotel. She had 
begged anew to be allowed to give the girl music 
lessons, but the Baroness refused as before. She for- 
bade her to continue any relations whatever with 
Victoire, and threatened to have her shut up in a 
convent if she attempted to communicate with her 
daughter. At this Theroigne had screamed loudly, 
and had begged her to show respect for the rights 
of man. Thereupon Mme de Selys ordered her 
haughtily to take her departure. At this moment 
the Baron appeared on the scene. There was renewed 
bewailing. Theroigne, exasperated, flung the strongest 



Kuf stein 239 

epithet she knew at him. She called him a zealous 
defender of monarchs ! The Baron put an end to 
this absurd situation by gently and politely showing 
her to the door. They separated without bearing 
each other any ill-will, but Theroigne, as is not 
unusual with women of her type, insisted on having 
the last word. '* Oh," she said scornfully, *' how 
can a brave and gallant man like you live with a 
woman so insupportably proud ! " 

Various causes were at work to involve the Baron 
in expense on behalf of the woman, who, attractive 
as she might be personally, had made it definitely 
clear that she was not an individual worthy of great 
confidence, and that all services performed on her 
account were likely to be but ill repaid. A very 
short time elapsed before Pierre Theroigne began to 
importune de Selys both for himself and for his sister. 

" Very soon after Mile Theroigne was so rudely 
captured near Liege," wrote the Baron on March 6th, 
1792, "her brother, who often stayed with an aunt 
half a league from my castle, made the acquaintance 
of a certain R. Labeye, who for many years has super- 
vised the workmen on my estate. Through this 
Labeye, M. Theroigne and his uncles and aunts 
asked me to try to obtain information as to what 
had become of his sister. I made some inquiries, 
and found she had taken the route to Breisgau." 

Pierre-Joseph went to the castle frequently, and, 
complaining of not receiving help from Paris, begged 
de Selys to do what he could to assist him. In order 
to rid himself of these importunities the Baron sug- 
gested that the young fellow should make a journey 



240 A Woman of the Revolution 

to Kufstein himself in order to obtain definite news 
of his sister, and he even bestirred himself to obtain 
a passport for Pierre, which described him as a young 
man of good reputation, aged about twenty-four, well 
made, and above the average height, with chestnut- 
coloured hair. But this proposed journey came to 
nothing, which was perhaps fortunate, under the 
circumstances, as Theroigne was then on the point 
of leaving the prison for Vienna, and her brother 
would probably have arrived too late. 

She, on her part, was moving heaven and earth to 
have the pawned jewels restored to her, and set about 
this task in the most diplomatic manner imaginable. 
She began by thanking M. le Blanc for all his kind- 
ness to her at Kufstein. 

*' You have been a benefactor to me," she remarked. 
*' 1 feel convinced that you will never abandon me. 
And I do not doubt that you will do everything 
you possibly can to obtain for me the favour of an 
audience with the Emperor." 

" That will not be altogether easy," replied Le 
Blanc. " You have too high an opinion of my influence. 
Don't delude yourself in that behef." 

Theroigne seized upon this occasion to express her 
views on humanity in general and politics in par- 
ticular. She grew wonderfully animated, and her 
powers of fascination increased with her excitement. 
She was well informed upon all the questions of the 
day. She expressed accurate ideas of right and justice, 
and defended them with all the single-mindedness 
of which a woman led by intuition can be capable. 

U I have learnt to know men," she declared boldly. 



Kufstein 241 

" and I esteem them but little, for 1 have been 
deceived over and over again. You, too, must admit 
that the feeling I have against the French noblesse is 
a legitimate aversion. I might be able to pardon 
the persecutions and personal insults which they have 
showered upon me, but can I ever forget that they 
have sought to ruin me and reduce me to beggary, 
as well as all those who are dear to me } " 

" What ! what's that } " asked Le Blanc in astonish- 
ment. " Where do you get that dreadful idea from .^ " 

" If am not set free speedily I shall lose the re- 
mainder of my fortune. Do you wish to know more ? 
Well, I will tell you. Here is the receipt for a 
diamond necklace which was left at the Mont de 
Piete of Liege. The interest is overdue ; and if I 
remain a prisoner, and am unable to redeem the 
pledge, my necklace will be sold, and " 

Her voice broke. 

Le Blanc inquired what sum was owing. She told 
him that the necklace was worth more than six 
thousand livres, and that two thousand were required 
to get it back. 

" It means a small fortune to me," she cried, " and 
the loss of it would be a terrible blow both to me and 
mine." 

" That is true," said Le Blanc. " You must let me 
have the receipt. I will send it to Coblenz. Metter- 
nich will have the interest paid up to date before your 
trial comes to an end. We will save the necklace." 

Th^roigne hardly knew how to express her gratitude. 

Le Blanc sent his report, and the minister put the 
matter in the hands of the Baron de Selys, who was 



242 A Woman of the Revolution 

then living at Liege. Inquiries were immediately 
made. 

Meanwhile Pierre-Joseph had told Labeye about the 
necklace, and begged him to ask the Baron to redeem 
it. Mme de Selys, hearing of the jewels, obtained the 
influence of some relative at the Mont de Piete and 
went to inspect them. 

"At the close of 1791 my wife saw the necklace, 
and at the prayer of Sieur Th^roigne wished to redeem 
it," wrote Selys, in the letter of March 6th. "But 
as Sieur Theroigne was unable to produce the receipt, 
madame was obliged to give security at the Mont 
de Piete in case the receipt was produced by anybody 
else. I learnt, on returning from a voyage, that the 
necklace had been redeemed, and was at my house, 
which did not give me any particular pleasure." 

M. de Selys told this story of the necklace to 
Perregaux, and added that, in spite of his displeasure, 
and somewhat against his will, he had taken charge of 
the receipts sent to Pierre-Joseph, and had redeemed, 
from the Mont de Piete at Paris, two ear-rings and 
a ring. He was not rewarded for his trouble. It 
came to his ears that Pierre's real reason for not going 
to the Tyrol was that he feared to be arrested himself 
because he had been told that the Baron de Selys 
was partly responsible for the capture of his sister, 
and was waiting to seize the brother too before appro- 
priating Mile Theroigne's redeemed jewels for his own 
uses. The Baron was naturally disgusted when he 
heard of these absurd aspersions on his character. He 
wished to rid himself as quickly as possible of all 
Theroigne's relatives, and, hoping to obtain her consent 



Kufstein 243 

to sell the jewels for the benefit of her brother, he 
wrote a letter to her personally, and took steps to 
assure himself that it would reach her. In it he told 
her that her relatives were all well, and greatly desired 
to see her again. Leonard Clamend, her uncle, who 
lived at Xhoris, had lost his mother. Her youngest 
brother, Pierrot, had left Xhoris for Marcourt. Pierre- 
Joseph was still at Li6ge, and told him he was making 
good use of his time. Having thus dismissed the 
trivial family gossip, he explained that he had helped 
both her brothers several times with sums of money, 
the last being an amount of five louis the very day 
before the one on which he wrote. He had also 
redeemed her jewels as she had directed, and informed 
her that her brother Pierre wished to sell them and 
buy himself an interest in some business, which, he 
was told by Pierre, was a plan of her own. He asked 
her to agree definitely to this arrangement, as her 
brother was without resources, and could get no 
answer from Perregaux although he had written more 
than once. 

Before this letter reached Kufstein Th6roigne was 
on her way to Vienna, and Le Blanc himself replied 
to it on November 21st, 1791, informing the Baron 
that she would soon be free, and able to answer his 
questions in person. 

This, to her, highly desirable state of affairs was 
brought about by Le Blanc's conviction that the 
prisoner had been arrested under a misapprehension. 

Finding that her account differed in almost every 
particular from that of her chief accuser, La Valette, 
he decided to confront the two of them, in spite of her 



244 A Woman of the Revolution 

objection ever to be brought face to face with her 
persecutor. La Valette was introduced into the prison 
under the name of Legros on July 6th, and this 
dramatic interview was to be the final act of the 
inquiry into the charges brought against the prisoner. 

When Theroigne recognised the Chevalier who had 
been brought into her cell without warning, she rose 
from her bed like an infuriated tigress. She was 
trembling and gasping with the strength of her 
emotion. Her stifled breathing and the glare of anger 
in her eyes showed plainly the hatred she bore this 
adversary. Le Blanc, who was present, began to fear 
the result of so much excitement upon her already 
enfeebled health. 

After repeating the substance of h s accusations, 
La Valette said proudly : " I persist in my declarations, 
and maintain all my depositions to the letter." 

'* And I refuse to alter a single word of what I have 
said," added Theroigne. Her voice rang out ; she 
drew herself up, and at that moment she held herself 
like a great lady, and faced her accuser with a dignified 
pose that was both graceful and full of energy. Her 
conscience was at rest, and she was inspired by a know- 
ledge of her own innocence. 

Le Blanc saw that nothing was to be gained by 
prolonging the interview. Influenced, no doubt, by 
her obvious honesty, by the straightforwardness of 
her replies, and no less, it must be confessed, by the 
personal magnetism which afi^ected even better men 
than the inquiring magistrate, he became convinced, 
little by little, that she had never made an attempt to 
assassinate the Queen of France, and, as no proof 



Kufstein 245 

existed of her having incited the people of Brabant 
to rebelUon, he could not bring home to her any worse 
accusation than that of being a misguided young 
woman. 

At the end of June his sympathies had been deeply 
enlisted by her evident sufferings and ill health. He 
sent for the local doctor, who seemed unable to cure 
her. Then he called in an illustrious physician, Dr. de 
M^derer, who came all the way from Constance, where 
he was enjoying a holiday, at the request of his old 
friend and colleague. 

M6derer had a world-wide reputation. He arrived 
at Kufstein at the end of July. He recognised at once 
that Theroigne's physical condition was anything but 
satisfactory, and that her mind was deeply troubled. 
Continuous excitement, unrelieved suspense, and grief 
had worked havoc on her constitution, and had re- 
duced her to a state bordering on mental aberration. 
Somethinof had to be done at once to relieve the 
Strain upon her mind, lest her brain should become 
unbalanced. At all costs her thoughts must be dis- 
tracted, unless it was possible to offer her the only 
remedy which could be thoroughly efficacious — namely, 
the release which would naturally terminate her anguish. 

The doctor's report is interesting, both as it stands 
and as evidence of the strange effects of " Revolution 
fever " with which many people in France became 
afflicted about this period. 

" In accordance with an order given me on the 14th 
of the month," ran the report, " I went on the 23rd to 
see the French prisoner detained here. I stated that 
her physical ills were easily curable, and I gave instruc- 



246 A Woman of the Revolution 

tions to that effect. But I found her moral condition 
utterly degenerate, and, as a result of continued physical 
and mental strain, I feared she might at any time give 
way to a serious disorder, and that the abuse of her 
constitution might lead to the contraction of a dangerous 
disease. 

" I therefore considered it to be my duty to report 
this state of things, and the condition of the prisoner's 
mind to the authorities, and to beg that she might 
have every possible care, because if she did not, the 
treatment I had ordered would be likely to fail, 
and immediate aggravations of her state were likely to 
set in. 

** How many people gifted with these extraordinary 
powers, if they employ them continually on one idea, as 
occurred and still occurs in the case of this highly- 
strung prisoner, are liable to weaken and destroy both 
body and mind so completely as to have great difficulty 
in restoring them ! This is an acknowledged fact, and 
is so generally known that it is unnecessary to furnish 
proofs of it. 

"KUFSTEIN, 25/7/179I." 

Le Blanc, having received this report, communicated 
it at once to Kaunitz, and demanded his authority for 
transferring the prisoner. Kaunitz put the matter 
before the Emperor, who ordered Th6roigne to be 
brought to Vienna. 

In the early days of August 1791 a coach and four 
left Kufstein on its way to the Austrian capital, and 
its occupants were Theroigne, Le Blanc, M6derer, and 
a clerk. 

The greatest precautions were taken to ensure the 



Kufstein 247 

prisoner's safety. So far she had been known as Mme 
Theobald, now she was called Mme Lahaye. The 
journey was made by very slow stages. Th^roigne's 
health did not permit of quick travelling. At this 
time a number of emigres were making their way to 
Vienna, amongst them the famous Mme de Polignac, 
who was accompanied by her family. Her cortege, 
consisting of several carriages and many servants, 
traversed the same road on the same day that Th6roigne 
passed that way. 

At that date Vienna was still a fortified town. The 
travellers arrived late at night, and certain formalities 
had to be gone through before they were admitted. 
The heavy carriage was at last allowed to proceed, and 
rolled on through deserted streets until it pulled up 
before a small house where one called Antoine Schlosser 
lived with his wife. This domicile had been designated 
by the secret police as a suitable house of detention for 
Madame Lahaye. She was very well looked after 
there, and had a servant of her own to wait on her. 
She was permitted to take walks, and was treated, in 
short, as though she were no longer in prison. 

By August 31st Le Blanc had drawn up a long 
report of her case for the court in which she was to 
be tried. Delays ensued, as invariably happens in such 
cases. Theroigne had, perforce, to remain idle and in 
suspense. She was pursued by fresh anxieties. Sup- 
posing her persecutors should succeed in prejudicing 
the Court against her ! Nothing could satisfy her 
but the one thing she desired above all others — her 
liberty. 

Le Blanc provided her with money, and though 



248 A Woman of the Revolution 

she accepted considerable sums from him they were 
not sufficient for her requirements. Theroigne, like 
most women of her class who have the capacity for 
getting their friends to supply them with means, had 
neither a knowledge of economy nor arithmetic to help 
her to make good use of funds. Ducats burnt her 
fingers. She spent them here and there prodigally 
or out of sheer generosity. She had soon disposed of 
many hundreds of florins. The only friend besides 
Le Blanc she had in Vienna was her uncle, the banker 
Campinado. She went to him and asked him to obtain 
more money for her. Then she persuaded him to 
dispatch a letter to Perregaux expressing her needs. 
In doing this she broke her parole. She had promised 
Le Blanc to write no letters and send no word to 
her friends concerning her whereabouts. The letter 
was dated September 15th, and was very guarded in 
its statements. 

" Monsieur (it ran), 

'* I can say very little except that my affairs 
are not yet settled, and that I am not yet free. Whilst 
waiting to examine the depositions of the generous 
French chevaliers, they are treating me very well. I 
am no longer in prison. I am in a special house where 
they look after me as well as they possibly can. I 
can walk about everywhere, and go into the public 
streets with a companion. I think they would even 
let me go alone on parole. But although I appreciate 
all that has been done to ameliorate my unjust position, 
I confess frankly that I am none the less unhappy. 
Nothing gives me pleasure if I have not liberty, and 




MARIE-JOSEPH CHENIER. 



249 



Kuf stein ijff 

besides, although I can go everywhere and speak to 
everybody, I am nevertheless isolated and cannot speak 
to any one of my affairs, nor say who I am, nor describe 
the position in which I find myself. Therefore I can 
make no real friends, nor receive advice from a living 
soul. 1 am forced to remain inactive whilst I have 
reason to fear that my cowardly persecutors will do 
everything possible to prejudice those against me in 
whose hands my fate lies. Nevertheless the conclusion 
of this intrigue approaches. I hope that they will no 
longer take the Emperor's religion in vain, that truth 
and justice will triumph, and that I shall be free to 
go where I will, because I defy them to discover that 
I have done wrong, unless they attribute it to me on 
account of my opinions from which they greatly differ. 
Besides, it would be a bad way to correct patriotism 
by impeding liberty. I beg you to send as soon as 
possible twenty louis to my brother. I do not know 
how our money matters stand. If you have received 
the half-yearly payment of my income of 3,200 livres, 
please send the money to my brother, who is at Liege, 
chez Fran9ois Person, at the Saint Esprit couronne sur 
Meuse. 

'^ThIroigne. 

'' P.S. — I cannot tell you where I am, but perhaps I 
shall soon have permission to write freely to my friends. 
Give my kindest regards to all those who know me, 
and who speak of me. I require forty louis for my- 
self. I shall try and let you know where you can 
send them. Sell my diamonds, which are ruining me 
in interest. I pray you to take heed of all my re- 
quests." 

15 



^5^ A Woman of the Revolution 

On October 4th she signed a declaration in which 
she agreed to live in whatsoever place might be fixed 
upon by the authorities. This limitation did not 
trouble her greatly. Her chief desire was to be set 
free. 

The delay had made her terribly impatient. 

*' Will your report never be done ? " she asked 
Le Blanc nearly every day. 

He counselled her to keep calm. 

Then she varied her question. " Will they let 
me go .'' " she pleaded. 

" I cannot tell you," replied the magistrate. 

When she heard that a formal verdict was to be 
issued she was delighted. She was determined to have 
a copy of the criminal proceedings. She knew that 
every Dutch citizen was entitled to a copy. 

Le Blanc reminded her that the report would em- 
body all her letters and private papers, and that the 
mystery of her life would be bared for every one to 
read it. But this did not seem to trouble her. All 
she desired was that her motives should be understood, 
and her innocence vindicated. As for her private life, 
that concerned no one. Le Blanc made a quiet 
reference to the Marquis de Persan. Even the thought 
of this episode becoming public property did not 
distress her. 

" What did the old man matter to me ? " she re- 
plied ungratefully. " I hate the very thought of him." 

Le Blanc took it upon himself to scold her for her 
rashness in wishing to be regarded as a political prisoner 
of importance, and for posing as a martyr. He dis- 
suaded her from her plan of having the report of 



Kuf stein 253 

her trial published and distributed. He gave her a 
hint that there was a chance of her obtaining compensa- 
tion for her imprisonment, and casually inquired the 
age of her brothers. She told him that one was 
eighteen, one twenty-two, and the third was married 
in Paris. Le Blanc praised her for the anxiety and 
solicitude she showed on their behalf, and suggested 
that possibly the Emperor might allow them to enter 
the army — as lieutenants. 

" That would be magnificent," she cried. 

Le Blanc's trust in the prisoner was somewhat 
shaken when she told him that without his knowledge 
she had been allowed two interviews with Prince 
Kaunitz and one with the Emperor. She declared 
triumphantly that the latter had given her permission 
to return to her own country. 

The examining magistrate was furious because she 
had managed to arrange all this behind his back. He 
threatened to have her clapped into prison again. 

A fortnight later, on November 24th, Mme Lahayc 
was summoned to the court. 

She was received sternly by the judge, who re- 
proved her in a long speech. 

*' So, madame," he began, " it is not enough that 
we should have to read columns of lamentable de- 
tails concerning the incidents of the French Revo- 
lution in your proces-verbal and other documents 
relating to your affairs, but you consider it necessary to 
add your personal opinions with regard to the causes 
of this catastrophe. Not content with describing 
terrible and bloodthirsty scenes in poetical language, 
you do not hesitate — madly anxious to proselytise 



254 A Woman of the Revolution 

as you are — to try to persuade us that the reasons 
you give for your revolutionary frenzy are excellent 
ones. ... It is your democratic fanaticism, and that 
of others like you, which is at the root of the evil. 
It is culpable and is the cause of the present impossible 
state of France. Is his Majesty Louis XVI. the 
author of the troubles and scandals of Paris and of 
Versailles ? Not at all ! It is the mad folly of such 
as yourself. Without the demoniacal passion which 
possesses you and blinds you, you and your co- 
religionists in Paris, there would be no cries, no 
tumults, no struggles, no tears, and no blood in the 
streets of the capital. And you call this the fulfilment 
of your duties as a good citizen. . . ." And he 
proceeded to heap vituperation upon her head. 

She replied proudly: 

" My ideas are what they are, and it is useless to 
use such grand words and gestures to contradict them. 
The truth is that I am a fervent patriot and a good 
citoyenne. You condemn the republic : that is your 
duty. I, on the other hand, condemn the monarchy : 
I think I am right in doing so. Besides I have only 
one hope. It is that the principles of '89 and the 
acknowledgment of the Rights of Man should spread 
throughout Europe and to every country in the world. 
In this work 1 have tried to help. I have not com- 
mitted any crimes, and nobody can produce a proof 
to the contrary ! " 

"You think so! But the Chatelet of Paris has 
nevertheless stigmatised you as a dangerous person . . . 
it would be a good idea to shut you up in a convent. 
There, submitting to a severe but human rule, you 



Kuf stein 255 

would lead a tranquil life and be set free on the day you 
gave an understanding never again to rail at society." 

" That day would never come ! . . . I swear " 

She uttered the words in a strident voice. 

After pointing out to her that, in accordance with 
the doctors' depositions, it was within his power to 
have her shut up for the safety of the public health, 
he explained at some length that she ought to know 
that her fate — nay, life itself — hung entirely in the 
power of the Government and the Emperor. 

At his first words Theroigne seemed to feel every 
vestige of the hope of freedom in which she had 
indulged oozing away, and she was overcome with 
despair, but at his mention of the Emperor she raised 
her head, and gravely looked at the man who was 
torturing her. She had faith in the clemency of 
Leopold II. 

There was a short pause, and then she heard the 
deep tones of the judge once more addressing her. 

" Hear the Emperor's will." 

" Yes, monsieur," she replied. " I am ready to 
face the worst. Speak." 

*' He has ordered a change of residence for you." 

A smile spread over her face. 

" To-morrow you will leave Vienna. Councillor 
le Blanc is instructed to hand over to you the sum 
of six hundred florins." 

" What is that amount for ? " she asked, her lips 
quivering. 

" For the expenses of your journey." 

" What journey, monsieur .? Put me out of sus- 
pense, I beg, as you love me." 



256 A Woman of the Revolution 

" To-morrow you leave for Brussels." 

" Ah ! " she cried, " A thousand thanks, monsieur. 
What am I to do at^ — Brussels ? " 

" You will go thence to Li6ge." 

"And there .f* " Her voice trembled with excite- 
ment, her eyes were shining, her face full of an 
unearthly light. 

" At Liege you will be allowed your " 

*' Great heavens ! My liberty ? " 

** You have guessed right, Mile Theroigne. Your 
liberty. Perfect liberty." 

With reference to these proceedings the Moniteur 
contains two interesting notes. The first appears in 
the issue of November i6th, 1791, under news from 
Vienna of October 29th. It reads as follows : 

" M. de Plank [le Blanc], charged to inquire into 
the case of the famous Mile Theroigne de Mericourt, 
still imprisoned at Kufstein, under the pretext of an 
attempt on the life of the Queen of France, has just 
arrived here. He has submitted to the Emperor the 
protocol of the inquiry and proceedings. The result 
is that it appears they arrested this young lady on 
insufficient evidence, and that the accusations against 
her have no foundation in fact." 

The second note appears in the issue of December 
22nd, 1 79 1, under news from Vienna of December 3rd : 

" The Emperor has set at liberty Mile Theroigne, 
and has given orders that the expenses of her journey 
should be paid. This individual, having been de- 
tained for a long time in the fortress of Kufstein 
in the Tyrol, was conducted to Vienna to be questioned 



Kuf stein 257 

on the supposed plot against the life of the Queen 
of France." 

The Petit Gauthier announced the fact of The- 
roigne's release in its issue of December 15th in 
the following terms : 

" The vicious [only they used a stronger word] 
creature who is called Theroigne de Mericourt, the 
same who on October 6th, 1789, planned the most 
horrible of crimes, is now at Brussels. She presented 
herself before the worthy Minister Metternich. Her 
savage audacity has not been diminished by her sojourn 
in Austrian dungeons. She had the atrocious im- 
pudence to say before the minister : Is it not just 
to sacrifice a handful of nobles to millions of citizens ? 
The apparition of this wandering corpse [another 
stronger term] exasperates all the honest people in 
this country. She is staying at the sign of r Homme 
Sauvage, who was never as barbaric as she." 

But Theroigne was free. For the moment, at any 
rate, she could afford to ignore these coarse jests. 

On January 5th, 1792, she wrote to Perregaux 
from Brussels : " Now that I am free, that 1 am 
sure of being able to go wherever I wish, that I am 
content with the justice done me by the Emperor, I 
feel that I ought to say that during the time of my 
unjust detention they treated me kindly enough. 

*' As for your aristocrats, they employed the basest 
means, the most infamous intrigues, in their endeavour 
to make me lose my liberty for ever. I assure you 
that if it had depended only on them I should still 
be in the fortress of Kufstein. Such is the character 
of French noblemen ! 



2^2 A Woman of the Revolution 

" I should be much obliged, monsieur, if you would 
send me thirty louis, which kindly change in Paris. 
If you have only assignats I should lose less that way. 
I beg you to send me what I ask by the first courier, as 
I have not a centime to pay either lodging or board. 
Please address your reply to the poste restante, Brussels." 

From Brussels Theroigne also wrote to the Baron 
de Selys to tell him of her interview with Leopold II., 
but unfortunately this letter has been lost. A refer- 
ence occurs to it, however, on the back of the copy 
of the Baron's reply. De Selys jotted down notes 
as to the contents of the letter, consisting of an account 
of a talk with the Emperor, and questions as to what 
had been done with her jewels and the amount of the 
money which had been lent to her brothers. 

For some time afterwards the Baron heard no further 
news of Theroigne except vague rumours that she had 
returned to Paris. 

The difficulty about the jewels was not settled, 
however. On February 23rd, 1792, Theroigne wrote 
to Perregaux from Paris asking him to reclaim the 
diamond necklace from the Baron de Fan9on, as she 
now called him. 

Altogether she had pawned thirteen articles of 
jewellery, and had received a sum of nearly eight 
thousand livres in loans on them. 

Her pecuniary difficulties were as insistent as before, 
and notes of this period to Perregaux all contain 
requests for money. 

Poverty seemed but a trifling drawback in view of 
her glorious liberty. Was she not free to plunge 
afresh into the intense excitement of the Revolution ? 



J 



CHAPTER VII 

TO ARMS! TO ARMS! 

THEROIGNE had left Paris at the beginning of 
May 1790. She returned early in 1792, after 
an absence from the capital of nearly two years. The 
amnesty which abolished proceedings against all active 
revolutionists had been proclaimed on September 1 5th, 
1 79 1. The tide of the Revolution was sweeping on 
to its flood, and event after event had taken place in 
which Theroigne had been debarred from playing any 
part. 

Almost the day she left there had been a massacre 
of the National Guard at Montauban, and this outrage 
was reflected in the mournful streets of Paris. About 
this time, too, there had been an outburst in the 
provincial towns of Federations, or Feasts of Union, 
at which all men declared themselves brothers. In- 
spiriting scenes of this character had been held at 
Lyons in May, at Lille early in June, and in other 
towns, causing a very fever of Federation to enter 
the blood of all the French people. The result of 
this infectious spirit was the arranging of a general 
fete for the whole of France, timed to take place on 
the anniversary of the Fall of the Bastille. The story 
of the famous Feast of Pikes will never be forgotten. 
The work on the Champ de Mars getting behind- 

259 



26o A Woman of the Revolution 

hand, the people, both men and women, turned out 
in thousands to dig and delve, to wheel earth about, 
and fashion it into mounds for seats. Students, 
cavaliers, monks, nuns, shop-keepers, children, grey- 
beards, beggars, nobles, and Court ladies took their 
turn at digging, day and night, in rain or shine. 
Who can forget that Abbe Sieyes and de Beau- 
harnais tugged at the same cart ? Even the King 
was not spared. He wielded his spade to the joyous 
accompaniment of the people's applause. 

Theroigne would have been in her element here. 
It was a thousand pities that she could neither handle 
shovel nor trundle barrow ; that her cheery voice was 
not heard encouraging others in their toil (they were 
few, after all, who needed encouragement) ; that she 
could not be heard chanting in flute-like notes the 
inspiring " Ca ira," which was not yet the horrible 
" Ca ira " it later became. She missed the sight of 
thousands of delegates from the provinces, representing 
tens of thousands of armed men, taking sacred oath 
on the altar of the country to maintain the new 
Constitution. The King was present, the members 
of the National Assembly, the army of Paris, and 
an imposing array of citizens. The impressive cere- 
mony began with a mass. It was at that mass the 
story was told of Talleyrand, still known as the 
Bishop of Autun, that when he approached the altar 
he whispered in the ear of Lafayette : "Whatever 
you do, don't make me laugh ! " Absurd probably, 
but it is the kind of story that remains in the 
memory. 

Through these and all the happenings of 1790 



• To Armsl To Arms! 261 

Therolgne was far away from Paris, regretting the 
reasons that made it wise for her to remain in hiding. 
She probably heard as much as most people of the 
disaffection in the army and mutinies among the 
soldiers in various districts of the country. The riots 
at Nancy in August 1790, involving the Swiss of 
Chateauvieux, led directly to the fete in April 1792, 
given to those who were taken prisoner. Theroigne 
helped to organise it. 

At the opening of the year 1791 a great inclination 
to emigrate was noticed on the part of the nobility, 
a desire shared also by royalty. The story of that 
emigration is long enough and exciting enough to 
fill volumes. Throughout France people were steal- 
ing more or less openly to the frontiers, longing 
to be safely across the borders ; gathering in little 
coteries in out-of-the-way spots ; homeless wanderers 
setting forth in their great travelling coaches with 
fear in their hearts, often only too well justified, 
that they might never see their beautiful chateaux 
again. 

In the minds of the masses the word that rever- 
berated was Federation, in the minds of the classes 
it was Emigration. Both possessed but one idea — the 
former to be knit more closely together in the centre 
of things, the latter, on the contrary, to spread out 
and scatter. The lowest in the land were affected by 
the prevailing tendency as well as the highest. Even 
those closely related to the King — his brothers, for 
instance — were not immune from the epidemic of 
flight, and among those who carried it into effect 
with success were the forlorn maiden ladies, Mesdames, 



262 A Woman of the Revolution 

Louis XVI. 's elderly aunts. On February 19th they 
left Bellevue, their home, arousing a clatter of dis- 
cussion over this pathetic escape. The people, unable 
to detain their persons, absolutely refused to allow 
the luggage to follow, and invaded their household 
with a view to seizing all their possessions. 

Among the many unwarrantable calumnies uttered 
and written against Theroigne is one by a chronicler 
who goes so far as to make her play a part in the 
doings of that day, although, in reahty, she was many 
miles from the scene of action. This trifler — vaude- 
'villiste he has been called — is Georges Duval, who, 
in his " Souvenirs de la Terreur," says of Theroigne : 
'* She commanded the mob of male and female bandits 
who came to besiege Bellevue on February 19th, 1791. 
They arrived, brandishing pikes and sabres, in the 
Court of Honour, and perceiving the door which led 
into the apartments of the chateau open, they entered 
and crowded into all the corners, inspected the coffers, 
visited the armouries, looked under the beds, and 
forced their pikes into the mattresses of Mesdames 
in the same manner as was done at Versailles into 
those of the Queen. It was, in short, another 5th 
of October." Nothing was found ; their prey had 
escaped them ; and the people gave way to trans- 
ports of rage. Theroigne, in her position of leader, 
incited them to set fire to the castle. They were 
about to carry out this order when something hap- 
pened to change the trend of their thoughts. Their 
wanderings by torchlight had brought them to the 
dining-room, where supper was served. The sight of 
food made them forget their purpose. They flocked 



I 



To Arms! To Arms! 263 

round the table like harpies and seized upon the 
various dishes, nor did they spare the wine. 

Meanwhile the National Guard had been sum- 
moned from Versailles, but did not arrive in time 
to prevent these depredations. It is here that the 
author of the narrative allows his imagination to get 
so much the better of his discretion that he accuses 
Theroigne of being drunk and in a fit of frenzy 
snatching up a lighted torch. '* Those who love me 
will follow me and fire the chateau," she cried. With 
Jeanne le Due and others close upon her heels, she 
tore through the apartments, intent on her wicked 
deed, when a second discovery caused a diversion. 
A huge chest had been found in a little-used apart- 
ment, in which at first it was thought the princesses 
themselves might be concealed. This was not the 
case, but the capture was hardly less valuable, since 
it yielded booty in the shape of plate, jewels, and 
other rich treasure. At this moment the National 
Guard arrived, and put a stop to the nefarious schemes 
of the intending pillagers, and the phantom Theroigne 
disappears from the scene. 

; Theroigne saw none of the doings of the Day of 
Poignards on February 28 th, nor of the immediate 
results of the suppression of the barriers in the spring. 
She was not in Paris when Mirabeau died on April 2nd, 
nor for his magnificent funeral on the 4th. She was 
spared the excitement of the flight to Varennes in 
June and the return of the royal family under the 
guardianship of her friends Petion and Barnave. Her 
enthusiasm would have reached fever-heat and her 
tears of pride have been shed freely on July nth 



264 A Woman of the Revolution 

when the remains of Voltaire were borne in triumph 
to the Pantheon, had she been there to see. 

Only a few days later the people's great petition 
demanding the deposition of the King was laid on 
the altar of the country, which still stood on the Champ 
de Mars. This petition was the result of the people's 
displeasure with the National Assembly, which, still 
profoundly monarchical, hesitated to declare that the 
King, who had turned his back on the throne, had 
forfeited his right to sit there. The Club des Jacobins, 
growing more powerful day by day, and with whose 
ideals those of Thdroigne coincided, had said, '* We 
no longer recognise Louis XVI." The Club des 
Cordeliers, going a step farther, added, " Nor any 
other king." Thus was Republicanism born. 

The mighty petition was soon covered by thousands 
of signatures. The National Assembly, taking fright 
at this demonstration of feeling, ordered Lafayette 
and Bailly to march troops to the scene of action, 
and there proclaim martial law. After in vain com- 
manding the people three times to retire, the soldiers 
fired on the crowd, and covered the altar of the 
country with dead and dying. The conflict dealt 
a serious blow to the popularity of Bailly and 
Lafayette. 

From July 1789 to September 1791 the National 
Assembly had worked faithfully at the Constitution, 
according to the oath sworn in the Tennis-court. 
When finished, the new laws comprised thousands of 
decrees. When the Constitution was completed, the 
King, released from his suspension by the Assembly, 
was invited to take his oath of acceptance, and he did 



To Arms! To Arms! 265 

so on the 14th. Afterwards the National Assembly, 
in whose sittings Theroigne had shown indefatigable 
interest, declared its work completed. Before separating, 
and at the instigation of Robespierre, who proposed 
the resolution, the Assembly decided that none of 
its members should take a part in the new legislative 
body, which, under the name of the Legislative 
Assembly, met first on October ist, 1791, the day 
after the dissolution of its predecessor. Like the 
Constituent Assembly, the new body was composed 
of seven hundred and forty-seven members. It sat 
until September 21st, 1792, and then transmitted its 
power to the National Convention, which proclaimed 
a republic. 

"^ Long before that date Th6roigne had thrown herself 
with a new vigour into the tide of popular affairs. 
As she passed through the streets of Paris on her 
return in January she was greeted as a martyr and 
a saint. Little knots of people gathered round her 
as she told her adventures, and she was urged to 
mount a platform, where all could see the woman 
who had suffered imprisonment in an Austrian jail 
for the sake of liberty. She was wearing a short 
skirt, a soldier's jacket, and a hat with a long feather. 
The warm greeting of the people thrilled and excited 
her. All her past misery was forgotten. She shook 
hands heartily with those who pressed round to 
welcome her, and promised to put renewed energy 
into her labour for the cause. Thus, by slow degrees, 
she made her way to the Club des Jacobins, where 
she expected, and rightly expected, to be received in 
triumph. 



266 A Woman of the Revolution 

Her visit was in the nature of a surprise. The 
usual business was proceeding. 

The hall in which this influential club met was fitted 
up in nearly the same style as the one in which the 
legislative body sat. The tribune, or pulpit, from 
which the members spoke was opposite to that in 
which the president was seated. There was a table 
for the secretaries and galleries for a large audience 
of strangers of both sexes, in one as in the other. 
Men were appointed to walk through the hall and 
command, or at least solicit, silence when the debate 
became turbulent, after the fashion of the ushers at 
the Assembly. Nor had their efforts much more 
success here than there. The bell of the president, 
the cries of those whose business it was to keep order, 
were equally disregarded in stormy debates in both 
places. 

That day there was no uproar in the house, only 
the low drone of the members' voices discussing the 
possibilities of the opening year. 

It was January 26th, 1792. Gaudet was in the 
president's chair, and Lostalot described to the assem- 
bled company an Englishman's scheme for putting the 
people through certain new tactical exercises which 
in six weeks were guaranteed to render them equal 
to trained troops — a Utopian idea which can hardly 
have worked out in practice. Hion proposed that the 
National Assembly be asked to replace the battalions 
of Paris by French guards and soldiers of the people. 
Danton supported this proposition. Lasource and 
Robespierre disagreed over the question of public 
contributions to funds, the latter asserting that this 




26; 



To Arms! To Arms I ^^^3 

motion was put forward to distract public attention 
from more important questions. This remark caused 
such a tumult of objections that the president was 
obliged to interfere. The babel of excited voices, the 
splutters and ejaculations, died away. A diversion was 
caused by the arrival of a deputation from one of the 
fraternal societies. A proposition was made by the 
leader of the deputation that a petition should be 
addressed to the Assembly requesting that certain 
galleries recently opened to those who possessed 
influence should be as free to the public as the others. 
Again there were cries and gesticulations and the 
murmur of the crowd. Lostalot, who had taken the 
president's place, remarked that denunciations of this 
nature touched upon constitutional matters, and could 
not be dealt with by the society. At this moment 
the tinkle of the president's bell announced a new 
speaker. It was Dufourny. Looking round the full 
house, he said he had something of importance to 
communicate. A woman, celebrated for her devotion 
to the State and for the persecutions she had suffered 
at the hands of tyranny during her stay in Austria, 
was present in the hall that day. He believed the 
assembled members would like to show in the usual 
manner their appreciation of a martyrdom endured 
for the people's cause. He would call upon Mile 
Theroigne de Mericourt — for it was she — to come 
forward and receive the greetings of the Assembly. 

His words were drowned in loud applause, and 

many members rose from their seats and hastened to 

the back of the hall, where Theroigne was standing 

among a crowd of women. They insisted on escorting 

i6 



270 A Woman of the Revolution 

her to a prominent place in the centre. As she came 
forward, smiling, a slim, small figure, her chestnut 
locks loose beneath the feathered cap, her coat, her 
short skirt, and even her shoes adorned with tricolour 
ribbons, there was a moment's tense silence, then a 
tumultuous uproar ; then silence again. 

" Friends," she said, stretching out her arms as 
though to embrace every one. 

""^ " Vive Mile Theroigne ! " came the stirring cry 
from hundreds of throats. She was reaping the reward 
of months of suffering. She was keenly alive to the 
interest her sex and her misfortunes had aroused. 

At the first pause she spoke, thanking the assembled 
company for their gracious reception. Her words 
were simple, but her tones thrilled her hearers. 
Never had her gift of oratory appeared to better 
advantage. 

When she ceased speaking Dufourny addressed a 
few graceful phrases to her, expressing the pleasure 
experienced by the members of the Jacobins Club 
in seeing her back in their midst. 

These remarks were received by a second ovation, 
and many patriots, among the most enthusiastic of 
whom was the Abbe Sieyes, hastened to pay court to 
her in person. 

Theroigne was then requested to continue her 
narrative, but this she refused to do, saying she would 
write down an account of her imprisonment and read 
it at some future date. 

On January 29th Lostalot announced that Mile 
Theroigne had intended on that day to give them 
a description of her misfortunes during her stay in 



To Arms! To Arms! 271 

Austria, but was unable to fulfil her promise. She 
proposed to acquit herself of the obligation she had 
contracted towards the society on the following 
Wednesday. 

On February ist, at the request of a deputy, 
Th^roigne read the discourse she had prepared before 
the assembly of Jacobins. It was proposed that her 
account should be amplified in a memoir, but no traces 
occur of this having been printed. 

She told her adventures with candour and picturesque- 
ness. She praised the Emperor highly, said little in 
favour of Prince Kaunitz, and declared that the patriots 
had friends and partisans everywhere — in the Low 
Countries, in Germany, even in Leopold II.'s palace. 
She urged them on to action, and succeeded that day 
in thoroughly rousing the Jacobins. 

" The society bore witness to the keenest indignation 
against her infamous persecutors," said Brissot's Journal, 
the Patriate Franfais, in its number of February 4th, 
1792, "as well as the highest admiration for the 
constancy she has shown. This lover of the people 
has pointed out the best, nay, the only, means of 
establishing our liberty on a firm basis ; it is to bring 
war against the rebels and despots who menace us with 
hostilities, and yet fear them more than we do." 

Her account finished, Theroigne stood silent, the 
cynosure of all eyes. The president rang his bell, 
and Lanthenas rose to address thanks to her in person. 

" Love of liberty," he began, " placed by nature in 
every heart, made you cherish our glorious Revolution, 
mademoiselle. Your sentiments have drawn perse- 
cutions upon you. That is a certain claim upon our 



272 A Woman of the Revolution 

esteem. Your example demonstrates to all the friends 
•of liberty the power of this silent resistance, which 
is based on the elevated ideals of the soul, and by 
means of which the most feeble individuals have often 
made tyrants pale before them. The innate energy at 
the back of this resistance has often been possessed by 
women in such a large degree as to seem almost a 
supernatural gift in the eyes of ignorant people. In 
this enlightened age men will be moved by sheer 
natural inclination whenever your sex reveals grace 
accompanied by civic virtue, a combination which must 
eternally excite our enthusiasm. Brave citoyenne, 
repeat what you have done and suffered for the sake 
of liberty in all assemblies which public interest gathers 
together, even as you did here in our presence. And 
believe that wherever true French hearts beat, you will 
have accomplished something useful in the advancement 
of universal freedom." 

Then the staunch Jacobin Manuel stood up to 
speak. *' Once there was a time," he said, " when a 
certain society of men desired to know whether women 
possessed a soul. As a matter of fact this society was 
composed chiefly of priests, double-faced gentlemen 
who always wear an air of contempt towards women, in 
order that it may not seem as though they cared too 
much for them. ... If our forefathers indulged in so 
low a conception of womanhood, it was because they 
were not free, for liberty would have taught them, as it 
has taught us, that it is quite as easy for nature to 
create Portias as Scaevolas. You have just been listening 
to one of the first Amazons of liberty. She has been a 
martyr to the Constitution. I demand that she should 



To Arms! To Arms! 273 

partake of the honours of this meeting as woman 
president, seated by the president's side." 

Delighted as she was with her enthusiastic reception, 
with the halo of martyrdom which public opinion had 
placed upon her brow, Theroigne had no intention of 
resting upon her laurels. She knew it was time for 
action, she realised in a flash the change that had come 
about in the attitude of the people since her departure, 
two years earlier. To them the alteration had been 
gradual, to her it seemed sudden, and therefore the 
more significant, the more appalling. 

\ Whilst Marie-Antoinette sat in her boudoir earnestly 
planning an invasion that might save her husband, his 
country, and their child, never doubting that grape- 
shot would teach the rebellious French a lesson it was 
high time they learnt, while she wrote letters to her 
brother, the Emperor, and to Mercy-Argenteau, in the 
hope of producing the result that was nearest to her 
heart, Theroigne in her humble and untutored way 
was doing her utmost to help in bringing these 
same schemes to naught. The Queen incited men 
to war upon the kingdom over which she ruled ; the 
woman of the people called to her sisters to arm them- 
selves and try to defend the country that was thus 
betrayed. 

Although she did not flourish a sabre as fiercely as 
the notorious Alexandrine Barreau, or hop as gaily 
in the bayonet dance as the sisters Fernig, Theroigne 
was all aflame in the great cause. 

First and foremost an orator of the cross-roads, a 
clubist of the streets, she was so inspired by the military 
ardour of women throughout the provinces that she 



274 A Woman of the Revolution 

attempted to organise in Paris a battalion of warriors 
on the lines of those already in existence in the country. 
In Angers as early as 1789 women had desired to 
enrol in the auxiliary services. " We, mothers, sisters, 
wives, and lovers of the young citizens of Angers," 
they said in a petition to the authorities, " declare 
that if there should be an outbreak of war occasioning 
the departure of troops from the town, we desire to 
join with the country in protecting our interests ; and 
since we are not qualified to use force, we wish to make 
it our duty to look after the baggage, food, and various 
preparations for the marching of the soldiers, which 
services might well depend on us, for we prefer the 
glory of sharing their danger to the security of shameful 
inaction." 

Two years later these women subscribed a thousand 
livres to purchase a flag for the volunteers of the 
National Guard. This example was followed by the 
women of Brest and Nantes. At Aunay a " corps 
d'Amazones nationales " was formed by women who 
swore to be faithful to the Nation, to the Law, and to 
the King — ill-natured people added, to their husbands 
or lovers ! 

From the summer of 1790 onwards several legions 
of women warriors were formed. 

At Creil the uniform worn was a white tunic, short 
skirt, plain cap, a cockade worn on the breast, and a 
federal badge of gilded leather which bore the Gallic 
cock on one side, with an inscription " Citoyenne de 
Creil," and on the other side a laurel wreath round 
three hearts, with the device " I'Union fait notre 
vertu." The officers wore white tunics faced with 



To Arms! To Arms I 275 

red cuffs and collars, with white braiding and district 
buttons, blue hats with white plumes, and a wide 
tricolour sash. They were armed with javelins. 

The uniform of the Fernig corps was a white tunic 
with breeches, waistcoat, collar and cuffs of various 
colours, according to the division. The breeches were 
slashed a la Portugaise, and a brass helmet and flowing 
plume completed the equipment. These women cut 
their hair short in order to obviate the necessity of 
dressing it in a manner which might cause them to 
look conspicuous. 

A manifesto was issued by the women of Maubeuge 
to the effect that they were ready to fight. " At the 
moment when the country appears to be menaced by 
a cruel war," it ran, " instigated by traitors who push 
their rascality to the extent of themselves bearing arms 
against a kingdom of which by rights they should be 
the supporters, we hasten to make known to you our 
patriotism and our devotion to the country. We are 
determined to spill the last drop of our blood rather 
than to cringe under the yoke of tyrants and despots." 
Their offer was not received with unmixed approval. 
Grateful France thanked the intrepid citoyennes for 
their sublime devotion, and, since she relied with confi- 
dence on the worth and valour of her brave soldiers, 
she advised the women to use their talents in deeds 
of a less warlike nature. At Lalinde the women swore 
to shed their blood drop by drop rather than live 
under the yoke of tyranny. Patriots of the fair sex 
at Limoges wished to form a battalion which might 
share the work of the National Guard. 

The women of Vic-en-Bigorre sent an appeal to the 



276 A Woman of the Revolution 

National Assembly, saying that they desired to be 
regarded as an example of all the Christian, civil, and 
patriotic virtues, especially with reference to carrying 
out the laws. They had armed themselves in order 
to serve, in case of need, as auxiliary troops to the 
National Guard, thereby demonstrating to the country 
that their courage would not be found wanting as a 
last resource. Their flag was elaborately embroidered 
with a device on one side, "J'eleve un defenseur a 
la Patrie," representing a mother sacrificing her son 
on the altar of the country, and on the other " L'hy- 
men et I'amour couronnent le guerrier citoyen," a 
young citoyenne crowning a hero before the altar of 
Hymen. 

The women of Harcourt offered a flag to the 
National Guard bearing the motto *' Libres ou mourir." 

On January 31st, 1792, the women citizens of the 
town of Belves placed in the hands of the president 
of the Legislative Assembly a declaration in which 
they swore to consecrate their lives in upholding the 
Constitution, and to take up arms, either for the de- 
fence of their homes or to fight side by side with their 
sons and brothers. 

As early as January 1789, owing to riots at Grenoble, 
the women of that town wrote to the King to say that 
they objected to bring children into the world if they 
were destined to live in a country overridden by 
despotism. Battalions of these women were formed, 
and they shouldered their pikes with a bold air that 
was truly edifying. 

The women of Versailles were enthusiastic warriors. 
In white uniforms with tricoloured sashes, they formed 



To Arms! To Arms! 277 

a deputation which marched into the Assembly Hall 
in August 1792, and announced that they were pre- 
pared to guard the town while the men went to the 
front. At Rambervillers the women swore to do 
battle beside their sons and brothers on the ramparts. 
Two hundred women enlisted in the Legion Juste 
at Frie, and on August 9th, 1790, elected a certain 
Mme Feurier to be their colonel. A few days later, 
on the occasion of the consecration of their flag, mass 
was said, then there was a review, a banquet, and a 
ball. So great was the enthusiasm that " the troop 
of both sexes embraced to the sound of repeated 
vivats." 

When the National Guard was reorganised at 
Perouges in the spring of 1793, it was found that 
over one hundred women were serving in the ranks. 
Others were enrolled in various sections of the re- 
publican armies, and some women certainly saw active 
service, but no body of citoyennes had the glory of 
facing the enemy's fire. One at least took the command 
of soldiers. At Mormant a Mme de Moulins wrote 
to the volunteers, " My nephew, who is an aristocrat, 
has refused the honour of acting as colonel of your 
National Guard, so I propose to command you myself." 
Her bold plan was hailed with enthusiasm. A fine 
military reception was given to the lady in question, 
and she was so deeply touched by this exhibition of 
feeling that she displayed the national cockade and 
armed herself with a sabre. 

^ Theroigne knew how to appreciate the spirit which 
animated these women. All over the country they 
were ready to defend themselves. Their warlike atti- 



278 A Woman of the Revolution 

tude was expressed very clearly indeed in a letter 
printed on February 27th, and distributed at the insti- 
gation of Tallien in his capacity of president of La 
Societe Fraternelle seante aux Minimes. Theroigne 
was a member of this society, and made one of her 
most telUng speeches on presenting the members with 
a flag. She thoroughly approved of the sentiments 
contained in the letter which appeared immediately 
after her triumph at the Jacobins, and to which over 
three hundred signatures were appended. 

The appeal was made to the Legislative Assembly. 
^"Legislators," it began, "women patriots present 
themselves before you to claim their individual right 
to defend life and liberty. 

" Everything warns us of a speedy and violent up- 
heaval. Our fathers, our husbands, and our brothers 
may perhaps fall victims to the fury of our enemies. 
Is there any one who can hinder us from the privilege 
of avenging them or of dying beside them ^ 

"We are women citizens, and can never be indifferent 
to the fate of our country. Your predecessors en- 
trusted the Constitution to our hands as well as yours. 
How can we guard this trust unless we have arms 
to defend it against the onslaught of enemies ? Legis- 
lators, we require arms, and we come to obtain per- 
mission to carry them. Our want of physical strength 
is no obstacle ; courage and intrepidity will stand us 
in good stead; the love of our country and hatred 
of tyrants will make it easy for us to brave every 
danger. Do not suppose that it is our intention to 
abandon the care of our family and household, always 
dear to our affections, for the sake of rushing out to 



To Arms! To Arms! 279 

meet the enemy. No, gentlemen, we only ask to be 
in a position to defend ourselves. You dare not, and 
society cannot, refuse us this right which nature has 
given us ; unless it be claimed that the Declaration of 
the Rights of Man has no application to women, and 
that the latter ought to allow themselves to be 
slaughtered like sheep without any attempt at a 
struggle. 

'* Does any one believe that the tyrants would spare 
us .? No, they will remember the 5th and 6th of 
October, 1789. 

*' But people tell us that men are armed for the 
purpose of defending us. That may be so ; never- 
theless, we reply, why deprive us of the power to 
co-operate in this defence, and of the pleasure of 
prolonging their days at the cost of ours .? Do they 
know for certain the number and strength of our 
hidden enemy ? Will there be only one fight ? Are 
our lives worth more than theirs .'* And are not our 
children as much orphans when they lose their father 
as when they lose their mother ? Then why not make 
use of all the sources of civicism and purest zeal in 
order to dismay aristocracy and overthrow despotism — 
zeal which level-headed men may call fanaticism and 
exaggeration, but which is the only natural outcome 
of hearts burning with love for the public welfare? 

" Doubtless, gentlemen, most perfect success will 
crown the justice of our cause. In that case we 
should enjoy the delight of having contributed to 
the victory. But if by the cunning of our enemies, 
or through the treason of any on our side, the victory 
should remain in the hands of the unjust, would it 



28o A Woman of the Revolution 

not be cruel to condemn us to await a shameful death 
in our houses, and all the horrors which would precede 
it, or, worse still, the doom of surviving all we hold 
most dear — our family and our liberty ? 

" Gentlemen, you cannot contemplate such possi- 
bilities unmoved ; and if, for reasons we cannot grasp, 
you refuse our just demands, the women whom you 
have raised to the rank of citoyennes by giving this 
title to their husbands, the women who have enjoyed 
the first-fruits of liberty, who have conceived the hope 
of bringing into the world free men, and who have 
sworn to live free or to die, these women will never 
consent to give birth to slaves ; they will die sooner, 
and to keep their oath a poignard thrust in their 
bosom shall deliver them from the degradation of 
slavery. They will die thus, regretting not life, but 
the uselessness of their death ; regretting that they 
were prevented from dipping their fingers in the 
impure blood of an enemy to the country and avenging 
some of their fellow citizens." 

And then followed their demands : 

" We hope to obtain from your justice and equity, 
firstly, permission to procure pikes, pistols, and sabres, 
even guns, for those who have strength to use them, 
in accordance with and submission to the police regula- 
tions ; secondly, to assemble on fete days and Sundays in 
the Champ de la Federation, or other convenient place, 
to exercise and manoeuvre with the said arms; and 
thirdly, to name as our commanders certain former 
French Guards, always in conformity to the regula- 
tions prescribed by the wisdom of the mayor for good 
behaviour and public tranquillity." 



To Arms! To Arms! 281 

Such, then, was the temper of the women, and all 
the early months of 1792 this warlike spirit seethed 
in Paris. Everything possible was done to obtain 
arms. They collected money for the fabrication of 
pikes, and numbers of these weapons were made 
specially for women. One may be seen at the Car- 
navalet to-day, beautifully finished, light, yet strong, 
and the handle adorned with a design of laurel branches 
and a Phrygian bonnet. 

Naturally enough the royalist journals expressed 
their views on the matter, and pointed out Th^roigne's 
aims with a satirical finger. 

"A superb deputation of women arrived armed 
with pikes," declared the Sabbat s 'Jacobites^ describing 
the day Theroigne arrived to read her statement before 
the club. *' They opened the discussion by warning the 
honourable members of the house that their visit 
was only a rehearsal of a farce which they intended to 
perform the following day in the National Assembly. 
The colonel of this feminine squadron was the incom- 
parable Mile Theroigne de Mericourt. This new 
Penthesilea, having made the most charming remarks 
to all the members of the sublime Aeropagus, closed 
her discourse with lines sung to the air ' Ne v'la-t'il 
pas que j'aime ' : 

II faut pour etre utile enfin 
A notre R6publique 
Que chaque femme ait a la main 
Una superbe pique.'' 

The Fetit Gauthier of March 14th said: "The 
martial fire which the Bourrique des Jacobins^ Mile 
Theroigne, put into her command last Sunday of 



2 82 A Woman of the Revolution 

the patriotic manoeuvres of those ladies who are ready 
to shed their blood in order to keep the Assembly 
in its place, was so active that the moustaches of 
the said lady came unfastened and were lost." 

But such poor jesting as this was not likely to 
damp the ardour of Theroigne herself nor of the 
numbers who sympathised with her. 

The Patriate Fran(ais praised her warlike language, 
and pointed out that her leaning was towards the 
Brissotins, as opposed to the Robespierrists. On 
the question of war she was prepared to side with 
those who were presently known as the Girondins. 
But her great wish was, as already stated, to do for 
Paris what others had done for the provinces, namely, 
to organise a battalion of women soldiers. 

A reference to her scheme appeared in an article on 
pikes in Les Revolutions de Paris, dated February i8th: 
"On July 14th next," it explained, "twenty-five 
millions of pikes will exist in France. In imitation 
of our early ancestors, who never assembled in the 
Champ de Mars without being armed with lance and 
shield, twelve million citizens able to bear arms and 
to carry a pike will gather on the Champ de la 
Federation. Pikes, however, are forbidden to women ; 
let it not displease the famous Theroigne and the 
phalanx of Amazons that she proposes to establish and 
to command ! " 

Apart from drilling and manoeuvring, there was 
enough occupation for the eager women. Petitions, 
discourses, presentation of flags, and the acquirement of 
pikes were the chief signs of activity at this time. 
A tricoloured flag of Liberty and two pikes were 



To Arms! To Arms! 283 

presented by the affiliated citoyennes to the Societe des 
Cordeliers at their sitting of Sunday, March nth. 
The presentation was made with the usual speech. 
" The women who bring you the flag of Liberty," 
said the spokeswoman, '' know well how to speak the 
language of freedom. Though our arms may be too 
feeble to defend it, at least our hearts' desire is to 
inspire you with sentiments no less worthy of a 
Pompey or a Brutus. For long enough you have 
rotted in the degradation of servitude. The hour has 
struck. Arise ! " — with much more to the same 
theatrical effect. 

A reply was made by Lebois, president of the 
Societe des Amis des Droits de I'Homme. 

"Generous Citoyennes," it ran, 

'' The Society of the Friends of the Rights 
of Man receives with the deepest gratitude the tri- 
colour flag which you have presented, accompanied by 
two pikes. Beneath this august emblem of liberty, 
it swears to march towards victory, for victory is certain 
when one fights for the safety of the country, and 
under the eyes of wives and sisters. You have doubled 
our courage, you will share our triumphs. 

" The gift you have made to us will never perish. 
Your standard will float in the enclosure of our 
assemblies like a living gauge of your civic virtues 
and of the fraternity which unites us." 

Only a few days later Theroigne was the chief figure 
in a similar ceremony. 

She made a stirring appeal to women to emancipate 



284 A Woman of the Revolution 

themselves. At that day most women's ideas, especially 
on religion and politics, were coloured by those of 
husband or father. In her struggle for liberty Th^roigne 
applied particularly to women for help. She desired 
them to realise for themselves the duties of citizenship 
and their civil rights. She desired above all that her 
sex, without neglecting their duties in the home, should 
have a share in the direction of the affairs of the 
country. Her remarks were delivered in the declama- 
tory style of the day, and show signs of an incomplete 
education, besides being reminiscent of certain authors 
— for instance, de Mably, who based his ideals on the 
political civilisation of Greece and the Republic of 
Sparta, — but they display her views and aspirations in a 
manner both brilliant and intelligent, and throw a great 
deal of light on the feminist movement of that day. 

The discourse was delivered to the Soci6te Frater- 
nelle des Minimes on March 25th, 1792, the fourth 
year of liberty, by Mile Theroigne, in presenting a 
flag to the citoyennes of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine. 

The hall was crowded, hundreds of women were 
there, excited and gesticulating ; the tense expectancy 
which is always startling among French audiences was 
tuned up to breaking pitch. Of a sudden there 
was silence, and a thousand eyes were turned upon 
the slim figure of the speaker as she rose from her 
seat on the platform. 

" Citoyennes," she began, " although we have gained 
victories, although a tyrant is dead, a treacherous 
minister has been accused of high treason, and the 
Assembly exhibits an energy which revives the hope 
of the Friends of the Country, we are, nevertheless, 



To Arms I To Arms! 285 

still, and always, in danger. Without entering into 
the details that are already known to you, I will only 
repeat those things which I believe cannot be recalled 
to your memory too often, in order to beg that you 
may reflect seriously upon the present situation. Do 
not lose sight of the fact that the torches of civil war 
are ready to be lighted, that the standard of the 
counter-revolution is displayed in various parts of 
the empire ; that it is visible everywhere, but more 
especially in Paris ; that paid scoundrels have formed 
a plan with regard to the internal disunion of the 
country, which they are following up with the utmost 
determination, with a view to organising parties who 
will prove fatal to liberty if your vigilance does not 
defeat the criminal plots concocted by our enemies. 

" Citoyennes, do not let us forget that we owe our- 
selves wholly to our country ; that it is our most 
sacred duty to tighten our bonds of union and con- 
fraternity, and to spread the principles of steadfast 
energy, in order to prepare ourselves with as much 
wisdom as courage to repulse the attacks of our 
enemies. 

" Citoyennes, we can destroy the thread of these 
intrigues by generous devotion. To arms ! To arms I 
Nature, as well as the law, gives us the right to arm. 
Let us show men that we are not inferior to them 
either in virtue or in courage. Let us show Europe 
that Frenchwomen know their rights, and are amongst 
the most enlightened of eighteenth-century people, in 
despising those who are prejudiced, who, because they 
are prejudiced, are absurd, and often immoral, in that 
they make a crime of virtue. 

17 



2 86 A Woman of the Revolution 

" The attempts which the executive power can make 
in the future to regain pubUc confidence will be 
nothing more than dangerous traps which we must 
distrust : whilst our manners are not in accordance 
with our laws, authority will not lose the hope of 
profiting by our vices to put us in chains. It is quite 
obvious, and you may expect it, that they will put the 
loud talkers and scoundrelly pamphleteers forward in 
order to try and shake our purpose, in order to employ 
the weapons of ridicule, of calumny, and all the lowest 
methods which are usually employed by vile people to 
smother the transports of patriotism in feeble souls, 

" But, Frenchwomen, since the progress of enlight- 
enment calls upon you to reflect, compare what we 
are now with that which we ought to be in the social 
order. To understand our rights and our duties it 
is necessary to take reason as our arbiter, and to be 
guided by her ; thus we shall distinguish the just from 
the unjust. What then can be the consideration which 
could stay us, which could hinder us from doing the 
right thing when it is evident that we can do it and 
that we ought to do it ? We will arm because it is 
reasonable that we should prepare to defend our rights, 
our hearths and homes, and that we should not do 
justice to ourselves and our responsibilities to the 
country if the pusillanimity which we have acquired 
in bondage should still have sufficient sway over us 
to prevent us from doubling our powers. According 
to all accounts, it is impossible to doubt that the 
example of our devotion will awaken in the souls of 
men public virtues and an overwhelming passionate 
love of glory and of the country. We shall thus 



To Arms! To Arms! 287 

maintain liberty by emulation, and the social perfection 
resulting from this fortunate concurrence. 

" Frenchwomen, I say to you once more, let us 
rise to the utmost height of our destiny, let us break 
our chains ; it is time at last that women should throw 
aside their shameful inactivity in which ignorance, 
pride, and the injustice of men have kept them bound 
for so long. Let us return to the time when our 
mothers, the Gauls and the proud Germans, spoke in 
the public Assemblies, and fought beside their husbands 
to repulse the enemies of Liberty. Frenchwomen, 
the same blood runs in our veins to-day. What we 
did at Beauvais, at Versailles on October 5th and 6th, 
and in several other important and decisive circum- 
stances, proves that we' are not strangers to magnanimous 
sentiments. Let us recover our energy, then ; for if 
we desire to preserve our liberty it is needful that 
we should prepare to do things the most sublime. 
At the present moment such things appear extra- 
ordinary, perhaps even impossible, owing to the 
corruption of manners, but shortly, when enlighten- 
ment and the progress of public spirit have had an 
effect, they will become simple and easy. 

*' Citoyennes, why do we not enter into rivalry 
with men ? They pretend that they alone have rights 
to glory. No, indeed no. . . . We also wish to 
merit a civic crown, to sue for the honour of dying 
for a liberty which is perhaps dearer to us than to 
them, because the effects of despotism weigh still more 
heavily on our heads than on theirs. 

'* Yes, generous Citoyennes, all of you who hear 
me, let us arm, let us go and exercise two or three 



288 A Woman of the Revolution 

times a week in the Champs Elysees, or on the 
Champ de la Federation, let us start a list of French 
Amazons upon which all those who really love their 
country will come and enrol their names. We will 
meet again immediately to discuss means for organising 
a battalion on the lines of that of the pupils of the 
Patrie, of the Veillards, or of the sacred Battalion 
of Thebes. In conclusion, may I be allowed to offer 
a tricolour flag to the Citoyennes of the Faubourg 
Saint-Antoine." Amidst a thunder of applause she 
sat down. 

It was arranged that the first Assembly of the 
Citoyennes would be held on Monday, April 2nd, 
at five o'clock in the afternoon, in the hall of the 
Societe Fraternelle des Minimes, Place Royale. 

Theroigne's military plans, although not entirely 
her own idea, were not derived directly from any 
special individual. Paris was in a state of intense 
anxiety and ferment. The people were arming against 
internal enemies, and war from without appeared to 
be inevitable. From the beginning of February the 
nation had accepted the situation. From the begin- 
ning of March, which opened with the decision of 
Prussia to join Austria in invading France, and also 
by the death of Emperor Leopold, which retarded the 
actual movement, the suspense had grown more and 
more acute. It was felt that no stone should be left 
unturned, and Theroigne thought she recognised 
available material for use in defending the country 
among the earnest and eager women. But the ways 
of a capital are different from those of provincial cities ; 
and in exploiting her scheme for mobilising legions 



To Arms! To Arms! 289 

of women Theroigne found herself face to face with 
various difficulties which in the end proved insur- 
mountable. She had failed on the purely political 
side when endeavouring to organise her Club des 
Amis de Loi ; her attempt to raise a club of armed 
women was no more successful. In the early part 
of April she worked hard to enrol members in the 
Faubourg Saint-Antoine, but on the 12th of the 
month her enthusiasm received a severe check. She 
made herself unpopular among the very individuals 
she was trying to help. People at this time were 
growing fickle, and suspicious of their best friends. 
The hero of to-day was the outcast of to-morrow. 
Almost every hour brought a new personality into 
the limelight, and relegated one who had been a 
favourite to the shadows in the background. New 
parties were springing up, new and ever more daring 
opinions were being expressed, and he who did not 
venture to the extreme of rabid republicanism was 
in danger of being left behind in the race, or, worse 
still, of being trampled to death by those who were 
rushing pell-mell to the limit. 

Theroigne's adventure might have proved very 
serious. As it was she received a shock from which 
it took her some time to recover. She was busy 
with her recruiting work in the Faubourg Saint- 
Antoine when the crowd set upon her and handled 
her roughly. She owed her safety to the intervention 
of the Commissioners of the Section of the Enfants- 
Trouves, who, after making her promise not to return 
and cause further disturbances in that quarter, sent her 
away under an escort of the National Guard. 



290 A Woman of the Revolution 

" All the world has heard that the infamous The- 
roigne escaped with no little difficulty last Thursday 
from the chastisement which the people of the Fau- 
bourg Saint-Antoine wished to inflict upon her," said 
the Folies (Tun Mots with reference to this affair. 
" The evening before she had been proposing that 
the women should arm themselves with the pikes 
that men refused to carry. She returned accompanied 
by prostitutes. No sooner was she recognised than 
the cry was raised : * Here she comes ; let's beat 
her ! ' She took refuge from her persecutors in the 
Church of the Enfants-Trouves, where she found the 
Commissioners of the Section, who deliberated whether 
they should send her before the magistrate, as they 
ought to have done. In the end, however, they 
dismissed her without any punishment, and, to save 
her from the indignation of those who were pursuing 
her, they had her escorted to a carriage by a dozen 
National Guards." 

She was fortunate in her escape. The time was 
coming when she would not be let off so easily. 

But the matter did not rest there. On the 13th 
the Societe des Defenseurs des Droits de I'Homme 
et Ennemis du Despotisme, which held its meetings 
in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, sent a deputation to 
denounce Mile Theroigne to the Jacobins Society. 

The deputation accused her of having caused 
troublesome excitement in the Faubourg Saint-An- 
toine, because she wished to assemble the women of 
that quarter three times a week and form a club ; 
and had invited them to a feast or civic banquet, 
and had made use of the names of MM. Robespierre, 



To Arms I To Arms! 291 

Collot d'Herbois, and Santerre, probably without 
authorisation. The deputation, moreover, accused 
Theroigne of having imposed upon the women of 
this quarter by showing them a list of supposed 
signatures for this civic feast, the signature of Mme 
Santerre being recognised by the commissioners as 
in the handwriting of Mile Theroigne. 

In reply to a question put to Robespierre as to 
the use of his name in this connection, he declared 
that he had never had any special dealings with 
Mile Theroigne. A year earlier she had denied a 
personal acquaintance with him. She knew him by 
sight, she says in her " Confessions " ; but then, who 
did not ? But she had never spoken to him. She 
would have regarded his acquaintance as an honour. 

M. Santerre, when approached on the same subject, 
was more inclined to defend her. He announced 
that he had heard rumours of disturbances in the 
Faubourg Saint-Antoine of which Mile Theroigne 
might have been the cause without actual intention. 
With regard to the supposed false signature of Mme 
Santerre, the list was not supposed to be of signatures, 
but of the names of those people who desired to take 
part in the fete. 

Probably the trouble caused by the desire on 
Theroigne's part to form a women's club was the 
fault of the women themselves. The Jilles de la Pitie 
had been induced to join the meetings, and the nuns, 
who were responsible for their education, made objec- 
tion. Then violence had been resorted to. The men 
of the quarter, continued Santerre, preferred to find 
their homes in order when they came in from work, 



292 A Woman of the Revolution 

rather than to come back to an empty house and 
wait for their wives to return later from meetings at 
which they acquired a spirit the opposite of gentle. 
No doubt they had looked askance at meetings which 
were to be held three times a week. "All these 
considerations," he concluded, " produced the dis- 
turbances of which I have advised Mile Theroigne 
to avoid a repetition, and I have suggested that she 
would do well to renounce her plans. I have no 
doubt that, after reflecting on these disturbances, 
which she certainly never meant to cause, as evil- 
intentioned people might accuse her of wishing to do, 
she will renounce her plans of her own free will." 

What could unhappy Theroigne doi* Her ardour 
was considerably damped by the blow she had re- 
ceived to a popularity which had increased by leaps 
and bounds throughout February and March. She 
was forced to abandon the idea of training women 
to take an active part in warfare, and instead she 
turned for solace to a more picturesque line of demon- 
stration, and joined lustily in the civic banquets and 
fetes that were dear to the hearts of the people. 

That same evening, March 25th, a large number 
of the conquerors of the Bastille, of the inhabitants 
of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and the strong men of 
the Halles, met at the Halle Neuve. Thence the 
guests hastened to the Champs Elysees, where the 
banquet was to take place. Bonnets of liberty, carried 
on pikes adorned with the national colours, preceded 
the procession, which marched to the sound of drums 
and music. Gaiety and good-fellowship were the key- 
notes of this feast. Patriotic toasts were drunk, and 



To Arms! To Arms! 293 

patriotic songs and dances formed a feature of the 
evening. Petion was there and Saint-Huruge. 

This feast was the subject of many jests in the 
royalist press, and Theroigne's presence did not escape 
comment. " La Theroigne played a part in the fete," 
says the Folies (Tun Mois. " She stood upon the table 
and drank to the health of the patriots of Brabant, 
Li6ge, and all the universe. A Hercules of the Halle 
called Nicolas was there dressed in a bonnet-rouge, 
a white vest and breeches. The people asked him to 
kiss her, and she permitted it once, but she put on 
high-and-mighty airs and refused when all who were 
present shouted out bis to encourage Nicolas to begin 
again." 

The Sabbat s Jacobites described the civic banquet in 
a curious sketch, a "civic interlude," entitled "Mile 
Theroigne's Boudoir." The boudoir itself was a 
wonderful place. " On a kind of toilet-table stood 
a pot of vegetable rouge, a poignard, some ringlets 
of false hair, a brace of pistols, the Almanack du Fere 
Gerard^ a cap, the Declaration of the Rights of Man, 
a red woollen bonnet, a comb, a bottle of toilet 
vinegar, a torn lace fichu, the Chronique de FariSy 
and the Courrier de Gorsas^ In one corner was a 
cross bedstead and mattress ; beside it lay an enormous 
pike, and a riding-habit of Utrecht velvet. On the 
walls hung pictures of the taking of the Bastille, the 
death of Foulon and Berthier, the day of the 6th 
October, the assassination of Favras, the murders at 
Nimes, Montauban, and so on. Theroigne appeared 
in niglige of the most fascinating kind — shoes of red 
morocco, black woollen stockings, blue damask skirt, 



294 A Woman of the Revolution 

a pierrot of white bazin, a tri coloured fichu, and a 
gauze cap of flame colour surmounted by a green 
pompon. Her make-up was also tricolour ; white, 
brick red, and very deep blue. Basire comes upon 
the scene, and sitting down beside her takes her hand. 
First he sings a song. Then growing emboldened, 
makes advances which she repulses, saying she is not 
in a playful mood. Thereupon he accuses her of 
loving another. 

" No, my friend," she replies, '' but the country is 
in danger, and although I love you sincerely I love 
the country still more. In moments of crisis surely 
I may be permitted to forget you for her sake." 

Basire begins to suspect that she prefers Chabot to 

him, but she answers him that she never sees the 

'' old monk." Both these men were her friends, neither 

were her lovers. According to a little verse they were 

inseparable companions : 

I 
Connaissez-vous Monsieur Basire ? 
Connaissez-vous Monsieur Chabot ? 
Chabot vaut bien Monsieur Basire 
Et Basire Monsieur Chabot. 
Les talents de Monsieur Basire 
Valent ceux de Monsieur Chabot, 
Et lorsqu'on apper9oit Basire 
L'instant aprds on voit Chabot, 
Car Chabot n'est rien sans Basire 
Et Basire rien sans Chabot. 

At last Basire is forced to believe that Chabot is not 
his rival in Mile Theroigne's affections, and he suggests 
that he is deeply jealous of Petion. 

To this Theroigne gravely replies : " I esteem M. 
Petion greatly. The friendship I have for him might 



To Arms! To Arms! 295 

easily have deepened into love on Sunday, March 25th 
of this year. It was on that day that Messieurs the 
Port-piques of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine gave a 
splendid repast to Messieurs the Hercules of the 
Halles. Jerome Petion, as mayor of Paris, was at the 
banquet. If you had seen with what grace, what ease, 
he replied to all the toasts they drank to him ! He 
went from table to table crying ' Long live the Nation ! ' 
and humming the air 'Ca ira' — in a word, the festivities 
were charming." 

Theroigne had evidently not mastered the excitement 
aroused in her by her discourse at the Societe des 
Minimes that evening. She describes the baptism of 
the child of a drummer's wife, when Mme Tremblay, 
wife of a patriot printer, and Mile Calon, the daughter 
of the deputy, officiated at the font in the role of 
godmothers, and vin de Suresnes was used instead of 
holy water. Petion was the godfather, and the baby 
was named P^tion-Nationale-Pique. " How sorry I 
was not to be chosen as godmother ! " she cries. " I 
would have added three more names to the pretty ones 
already chosen which would have been quite equal 
to them — Lanterne, Assignat, and Bonnet-rouge." 

Basire's jealousy is by no means assuaged by this 
story. "Then I see," he says, "that M. Petion has 
really taken my place in your heart." 

"By no means," replies the adroit Theroigne. 
" I love M. Petion for his civic virtues, his patriotism, 
his devotion to public affairs, his talent for denuncia- 
tion, his earnestness at the Jacobins. In a word, it 
is the nation that I love in him, for he is the most 
worthy representative of it ; but you shall be none 



296 A Woman of the Revolution 

the less my lover, I swear it by my deeds of 
October 6th." 

And together they go off amicably to denounce 
the aristocrats at the Jacobins. 

The same paper, the Sahhats Jacobites, satirised the 
arrangements made for the fete of the Chateauvieux, 
describing how a group of three thousand women 
were to be chosen from the habituees of the Palais 
Royal, the Dames des Halles, and the Societe 
Fraternelle. They were to be dressed in red ribbons 
and red pierrot costumes, bearing a pike in one hand 
and a pamphlet containing extracts from '' The Rights 
of Man " in the other. Miles Theroigne and Calon 
were to be at the head of the procession. As a matter 
of fact, Theroigne took a very active part in preparing 
for this fete to the Swiss, which was intended to revive 
public spirit. She had been busy with the organisation 
from the beginning of the month. 

On March ist Gorsas wrote to Palloy saying : 
*' Mile Theroigne wishes to see you and talk with 
you, comrade. Please fix a day and hour when I 
can accompany her to your house. She particularly 
wishes to speak to you of a proposed fete for 
Chateauvieux." 

Three days later the question came up at the 
Jacobins, Theroigne being spokeswoman for a depu- 
tation sent by the Societe Fraternelle to propose a 
plan for a patriotic feast, " in order to tune up 
public spirit to its highest pitch," as she aptly expressed 
it. She gave such a long description of the proposed 
fete that Bronsonnet interrupted her, saying that 
Louis XIV. had been in the habit of giving fetes 



To Arms I To Arms I 297 

when he had forced other nations into submission, 
and that it was unthinkable that any one should 
propose similar measures in France now she was 
free, and at a moment when she might be forced to 
declare war against several nations. 

Th6roigne replied that what she proposed was not 
so much a fete as a ceremony, and she went on reading. 
Thuriot, the President, did not discourage her, and 
in the end Bronsonnet and Restaut were commissioned 
to examine into the plans submitted. 

Throughout the month controversy raged hotly 
round the forty unfortunate Swiss of Chateauvieux 
who had been condemned to the galleys and sent to 
Brest for revolt, murder, and pillage at Nancy in 
August 1790. Opinion was divided as to whether 
they were heroes or outcasts, as to whether they were 
to be feted or reviled. Collot d'Herbois pleaded for 
them, crying himself hoarse. Roucher opposed him, 
and insults were hurled from one to the other, the 
latter accusing the former of " rushing at him as 
though to strike him with the oar the Swiss had 
brought him from the galleys." Marie-Joseph Chenier 
associated himself with Theroigne in championing the 
cause of the soldiers ; Andre Chenier, on the other 
hand, wrote immortal verses denouncing the affair. 

" This fete that is preparing for these soldiers is 
attributed to enthusiasm," he declared. " For my 
part 1 confess I do not perceive this enthusiasm. . . . 
How, then, is the honour of Paris interested in feting 
the murderers of our brothers ? ... In a city that 
respected itself such a fete would be met by silence 
and solitude, the streets or public places would be 



298 A Woman of the Revolution 

abandoned, the houses shut up, the windows deserted, 
and the flight and scorn of the passer-by would tell 
history what share honest and well-disposed men took 
in this scandalous and bacchanalian procession." 

Dupont de Nemours assailed Petion on the same 
subject. The walls of Paris were covered with placards 
for and against. The discussion was hottest in the 
Jacobins Club. The press devoted columns to it ; 
the masses, adoring everything theatrical and emphatic, 
were on the side of the celebrations. But Theroigne 
worked on steadily against all opposition, and on that 
same fateful March 25th presented a petition, jointly 
with Marie- Joseph Ch^nier and David the painter, to 
the Council General of the Commune. 

" M. THE Mayor and Gentlemen," it runs, 

" In a few days from now we shall have 
amongst us the soldiers of the Chateauvieux. Their 
irons have fallen off at the vote of the Assembly ; their 
persecutors have escaped the penalty of the law, but 
not the stain of ignominy. Soon these generous soldiers 
will see again the Champ de Mars, where their resistance 
to despotism prepared the way for a reign of law ; 
soon they will embrace their brothers-at-arms, these 
brave French guards with whom they shared a heroic 
disobedience. 

" Fraternal liberality and well-deserved honours will 
acquit the country of the debt it has contracted 
towards the soldiers of Chateauvieux. Thus the 
efforts of good-citizenship should be encouraged. 
This moving fete will everywhere be the terror of 
tyrants, the hope and consolation of patriots. Thus 



To Arms! To Arms I 299 

we will prove to Europe that the people, unlike 
despots, are not ungrateful, and that a nation which has 
become free knows how to reward the supporters of 
its liberty, as it knows how to strike down conspira- 
tors, even on the steps of the throne. 

" Numerous citizens have charged us with a mission 
to you, which we fill with confidence and joy. They 
invite you, by our voice, to be witness of this fete 
which civism and the arts will render imposing and 
memorable. It is to be hoped that the magistrates 
of the people will consecrate with their presence the 
triumph of the martyrs of the people's cause. They 
have preserved, even in chains, that inward and moral 
liberty of which all the kings in the world are unable 
to deprive them. The country has engraved on their 
irons the oath to live free or to die, as it has engraved 
it on their swords, and on their national pikes, as 
it has engraved it in your hearts, in ours, and in those 
of all true Frenchmen. 

" Marie-Joseph Chenier 

" Theroigne 

"David 

"HlON," ETC. 

The municipal body approved of the petition and 
invitation ; the former was printed and distributed to 
the Forty-eight Sections, the latter was courteously 
accepted. 

In this enterprise Theroigne is found in excellent 
company. Marie-Joseph Ch6nier was the poet of the 
Revolution. He won fame with his play " Charles 
IX,," of which Camille Desmoulins said : "This piece 



300 A Woman of the Revolution 

has advanced our cause better than the days of 
October." Like Theroigne he was pursued with 
venomous attacks by the Actes des Apotres. His 
inspired features speak of his deep love of humanity 
and of his lofty aspirations towards freedom and 
justice. He composed numerous patriotic and re- 
publican hymns, among which the " Chant du depart " 
shared with the Marseillaise the glory of guiding 
the soldiers to victory. David did for art what 
Chenier did for poetry. Not content with using 
his brush to depict some of the events of the Re- 
volution, he took an active part in public affairs, 
especially in organising picturesque fetes like the one 
to celebrate the release of the Swiss of Chateauvieux. 

The soldiers were set free in February, 1792, and 
marched on foot to Paris, where they arrived on 
April 9th. They were accompanied by crowds of 
citizens and two deputies-extraordinary of Brest. From 
Versailles the crowd increased enormously, and the 
shouts of " Vive la Nation ! " became deafening. The 
procession made for the Hotel de Ville, where, after 
much dispute, and the matter being put thrice to the 
vote, they were admitted to the Assembly. 

Tallien drew up on April 2nd the programme of the 
fete, which was fixed for April 15th, a Sunday. 

A detachment of mounted gendarmes was to ride at 
the head of the procession, preceded by trumpeters, 
and followed by a battalion of the National Guard 
of Paris, a band, and gendarmes on foot. Then a 
number of men and women citizens, eight abreast, 
were to carry in their midst the Declaration of the 
Rights of Man ; then another band. A second group 





SAINT-]UST. 



To Arms! To Arms! 303 

of citizens and citoyennes carried arms and tools 
employed in the Conquest of Liberty on July 14th, 
1789. These were to surround a model of the Bastille 
and the flag of the fortress, which were borne turn and 
turn about by citizens of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 
conquerors of the Bastille, and former French Guards 
dressed in their uniforms. 

A battalion of veterans followed. 

A third group included the flags of England, 
America, and France, united by tricoloured ribbons 
to indicate an alliance, and carried by citizens repre- 
senting the free peoples. These were to be preceded 
by busts of Franklin, Sidney, J. J. Rousseau, and 
Voltaire, carried by citizens of the countries where 
these great men were born, and surrounded by pupils 
from the schools. 

The book of the French Constitution, carried by 
fathers of families, their wives, mothers, and young 
citizens, to whom it was confided by the Representa- 
tives of the Nation, formed the fourth group. 

National Guards marched between the groups. 

The fifth group was composed of deputies, muni- 
cipal officers, members of the various administrations, 
judges of the Civil and Criminal Tribunals, and 
deputies of the Forty-eight Sections. 

These were to be followed by citizens who had been 
victims of despotism and oppression, others carrying a 
model of the galleys, and still more carrying oars 
decorated with flowers and ribbons. 

Then followed forty citoyennes carrying as many 
trophies, made out of the chains the soldiers had worn, 
and banners bearing emblems and inscriptions in the 
1 8 



304 A Woman of the Revolution 

honour of liberty. In the centre of the group was an 
ancient sarcophagus, on which were traced the names 
of twenty-three soldiers immolated by an arbitrary 
judgment to the vengeance of their officers and to the 
resentment of Bouille. 

Another sarcophagus of the same kind was con- 
secrated to the names of the National Guards who 
died victims of their zeal in executing the law. These 
two funereal monuments were inscribed with the 
legend : " Bouille and his accomplices alone are 
guilty." 

Then came the Car of Liberty, drawn by twenty 
horses, harnessed four abreast. 

It was a solemn and imposing festival. 

In an earlier plan for the fete it had been suggested 
that the town of Brest should be represented by a 
woman partly veiled and showing signs of profound 
grief, whilst another woman, dressed to represent Paris, 
was to approach, embrace, and console her with 
promises of blessings to come. It was supposed that 
Theroigne would have taken one of these parts had 
not the idea been given up in favour of the statue 
of Liberty. 

A few days after the fete her popularity received 
another check, this time at the hands of her former 
friend, CoUot d'Herbois. The occurrence happened 
at the Jacobins on April 23rd. Collot d'Herbois, 
who was speaking, congratulated himself on the fact 
that Theroigne whilst at the Cafe Hottot on the 
Terrace of the Feuillants had declared that she with- 
drew her confidence from him and from Robespierre. 
This statement wa§ received with much laughter. 



To Arms I To Arms! 305 

Therolgne was in the women's gallery. Irritated by 
the spealcer and the tittering among the audience, she 
leapt over the barrier which separated her from the 
main body of the hall, avoiding all attempts to restrain 
her, rushed to the platform, and insisted on speaking. 
Her excitement was intense, her gestures highly ani- 
mated. A tumult ensued, which the president found 
it impossible to quell. At length he put on his 
hat and suspended the sitting. Theroigne was led 
crestfallen from the hall. The trouble had arisen 
because a rupture had occurred between the Brissotins 
and the Robespierrists, and Theroigne, in spite of her 
friendship for Basire and her recent alliance with 
Collot d'Herbois, had declared herself Brissotine. 

A writer in the Correspondance Litteraire Secrete 
summed up the matter thus on April 28th : *' MM. 
Collot d'Herbois, Robespierre, Chabot the ex-monk, 
and Tallien are opposed to MM. Brissot, Condorcet, 
Fauchet, Gaudet, and Vergniaud. A reconciliation 
is rendered more difficult than it would otherwise be 
because several women are taking part in the quarrel. 
These are Mme de Condorcet, Mme de Stael, and 
Mile Theroigne." 

After this date Th6roigne's name is frequently 
coupled in the royalist press with those of Mme de 
Stael and Mme de Condorcet. 



CHAPTER VIII 

SULEAU 

DID Theroigne take part in the demonstrations 
of June 20th ? The authoritative chroniclers 
give no definite evidence that she did. The deeds 
of that day were of the stirring character in which 
she delighted, and if she was not at least an interested 
spectator there must have been a good reason for 
her absence. 

France was afflicted by additional calamity. Besides 
internal strife, discontent, revolt, and scarcity of food, 
the allied powers, Austria and Prussia, were threat- 
ening utter devastation, particularly from the north. 
Patriotism was ready to burst forth in the south in 
the hope of saving France — for the blame of the dis- 
aster rested, according to the people's opinion, on the 
King's shoulders. The day on which the power of 
the masses could no longer be kept in check was at 
hand. After much demur permission had been granted 
for a petition to be presented to the Assembly by 
armed men. The citizens of the Faubourg Saint- 
Antoine were gathered ready to march to the palace. 
The streets were filled with agitated crowds. National 
Guards, demonstrators armed with pikes, the porters 
of the markets, women waving branches of trees, little 
children joining in the general clamour. Petion, the 

306 



Suleau 307 

mayor, had doubled the guard at the Tuileries, but 
took no steps to prevent the formation or progress 
of a procession. It was impossible. A repetition of 
the massacre of the Champ de Mars would have 
been an irretrievable mistake. The crowd swelled 
and swelled, until by eleven o'clock in the morning 
it was an irresistible human force ready to overflow 
in any direction suggested by its leaders. There was 
no talk of violence. This was to be a peaceable fete ; 
one of the fetes ever beloved of the masses during 
the Revolution. It was proposed, said Roederer, to 
plant a tree of liberty almost at the door of the 
palace. At the earliest hour of the morning this leafy 
symbol of budding summer and renewed hope was 
already hoisted on a cart in anticipation of its tri- 
umphal journey. Surely this was a project after 
Theroigne's own heart. Planting trees of liberty, even 
though they came no nearer to the Tuileries than the 
garden of the Capuchins, was not an amusement to 
be indulged in every day. Her friend Saint-Huruge 
was one of the leaders of the mob ; Santerre was 
another. Maton de la Varenne declared that Theroigne 
was a third. But his opinion is of little value, for 
his remarks concerning her are full of inaccuracies. 
He called her *' a miserable creature, small, wrinkled, 
and sickly, who blushed at the least coaxing ways of 
men, and who by an appearance of wit, although no 
real powers of attraction, had captivated and ruined 
several," and he accused her of trying to foment an 
insurrection at Vienna ! 

With her or without her, the people, intent on 
their fete, swarmed from east, west, north, and south, 



3o8 A Woman of the Revolution 

but chiefly east, to make their way into the grave 
presence of the country's legislators. A peaceable 
and good-humoured crowd, but nevertheless a crowd 
excitable and unrestrainable. The petitioners, without 
asking by your leave or with your leave, rushed into 
the hall. The Assembly, roused by this irregularity, 
rose to close the sitting. The intruders withdrew. 
Thereupon permission was given them to make an 
orderly advance. The petition was read at the bar. 
It contained the usual plea for freedom from op- 
pression, and in addition a demand that the King 
should have no will but that of the law. There was 
no manifestation of republicanism as yet. Dancing, 
singing, and full of joviality, the encouraged petitioners 
made their way out through the hall, and thence 
towards the Tuileries, accompanied at a safe distance 
by battalions of the National Guard. In their turn 
they were followed by a rabble of women, armed men 
carrying waving flags, a bullock's heart raised high 
upon a pike, with the gruesome inscription, " Heart 
of an aristocrat," and a pair of ragged breeches hoisted 
in the air, bearing the legend, " Vivent les sans-culottes 
— Tremble, oh Tyrants." 

At the palace admittance was at first refused, but 
presently, by the King's order, the gates were unbarred. 
The mob shouted hoarsely for the King, and cries of 
'*Down with the veto !" rang through the air. Santerre 
was among the last to come from the Assembly, and 
his followers had a cannon with them which was drawn 
up to the royal gate, and presently, some say, up the 
staircase of the palace itself. The daring of such a deed 
whetted the already tense excitement of the people. 



Pouring into the palace, they rushed into the 
apartments, seeking for the King. When at length 
he appeared, calm and imperturbable, as was his usual 
attitude in the face of danger, he was urged to enter 
one of the large apartments in order that a petition 
might be read to him. There he was asked to step 
upon a bench, and one of the rabble held up his red 
cap on a pike. Amidst general applause the King 
placed it on his head. Demarteau, who is usually a 
reliable chronicler, says that Theroigne marched at the 
head of the people of the faubourgs, who invaded the 
Tuileries, and forced the King to place the bonnet-rouge 
on his head. The extravagant Duval declares that 
on June 20th Theroigne appeared at the head of a 
crowd of brigands who invaded the King's apartments, 
and helped to push one of the wheels of the cannon 
which was hoisted into the hall where the people had 
forced the King to appear before them. When Petion 
arrived she went to shake hands with him ; and when 
he commanded the people to withdraw, she said to him 
in a tone of reproach, " I believe we might have ended 
the whole matter to-day ! " 

Meanwhile the Queen was with difficulty dissuaded 
from joining the King. She stood with her children 
beside her, surrounded by grenadiers, watching the 
rabble invading the sanctity of the private apartments 
with a sense of unutterable disgust in her heart and 
an expression of staunch indifference on her features. 
With her own hand she placed the obnoxious bonnet- 
rouge on the head of her little son, and when Santerre, 
speaking to her in friendly terms, relieved the child 
of this disfiguring headgear, she appeared conciliatory 



3IO A Woman of the Revolution 

enough, although a shudder swept over her frame. At 
length, after an invasion of the palace lasting three 
hours, the people took their departure, induced to do 
so by Petion and Santerre. The Queen hastened to 
join the King, who, finding himself still adorned with 
the red cap, tossed it from him in a fit of impetuous 
anger. 

Thus passed, harmlessly enough, one invasion of 
the palace by the people. Their next visit was to have 
more serious consequences. In July the fever of unrest 
became more and more pronounced ; every peasant in 
the country dropped the handles of his plough, betook 
himself to the mayoralty, saw the proclamation that the 
country was in danger, and returned, a soldier at heart, 
the cockade in his cap. If in June the royal family 
had been exposed to a sense of unbearable humiliation, 
in July they were dominated by fear — fear of death by 
the sword, by poison, or perhaps worse, by judicial 
condemnation. The last hope of flight was dwindling 
away, the last hope of rescue by foreign forces was 
dead ; nothing remained but the dumb pain of impo- 
tence, the inability to escape from an unrelenting fate. 
And so in a slow agony the days passed, bringing 
nearer and still more near the crisis which was to deter- 
mine the bitter end of the royal household. Repub- 
licanism had come suddenly to life. During the first 
days of August one word sounded ominously in the 
ears of those who loved their rulers — " dethronement." 
It was a thought which spurred the people to action ; 
it was the keynote of the deeds of the terrible loth. 

There is no room for doubt as to Theroigne's move- 
ments on that day. She played a conspicuous role 



Suleau 3 ^ ^ 

in one of the dramatic incidents which made up the 
tragic scenes of the attack upon the palace. In this 
incident she and Suleau were the two chief actors. 

The de Goncourts say bluntly, " On August loth 
Theroigne murdered Suleau." It was natural that so 
bold an assertion should lead to questions as to the 
motive of the crime. Various motives were imputed 
to her. The most romantic stories were woven about 
the event. At first it was supposed that Theroigne 
had vowed vengeance upon some young seigneur who 
had betrayed her in early life, and, coming face to face 
with him, had wreaked her vengeance and wiped out 
her wrongs by his death. Lamartine is responsible 
for perpetrating this dramatic but improbable version 
of what took place. He does not mention August loth, 
but dates the tragedy as from the massacres of Septem- 
ber. " Her ascendancy during the emeutes was so 
great," he says, "that with a single sign she condemned 
or acquitted a victim ; and the royalists trembled to 
meet her. During this period, by one of those chances 
that appear like the premeditated vengeances of destiny, 
she recognised in Paris the young Belgian gentleman 
who had seduced and abandoned her. Her look told 
him how great was his danger, and he sought to avert 
it by imploring her pardon. 'My pardon,' said she, 'at 
what price can you purchase it '^. My innocence gone, 
my family lost to me, my brothers and sisters pursued 
in their own country by the jeers and sarcasms of 
their kindred ; the malediction of my father, my exile 
from my native land, my enrolment amongst the 
infamous caste of courtesans ; the blood with which 
my days have been and will be stained ; that imperish- 



312 A Woman of the Revolution 

able curse attached to my name, instead of that immor- 
tality of virtue which you have taught me to doubt. 
It is for this that you would purchase my forgiveness. 
Do you know any price on earth capable of purchasing 
it ? ' The young man made no reply. Theroigne 
had not the generosity to forgive him, and he perished 
in the massacres of September. In proportion as the 
Revolution became more bloody, she plunged deeper 
into it. She could no longer exist without the feverish 
excitement of public emotion." 

That may be fine writing, but it is not the truth. 
If Theroigne felt personal animus against Suleau, a 
plausible explanation might be that she knew of him 
as one of the authors who had poured forth incessant 
abuse of her in the pages of the Actes des Apotres. 
But it is difficult, almost impossible, to apportion 
her exact share in the murder of the royalist. The 
crowd was thirsty for victims. Suleau was one of 
the most prominent and most hated of those prisoners 
who offered a chance of assuaging the rioters' lust for 
blood. Did Theroigne make any special movement, 
even the slightest push, to precipitate his fate ? If 
she did, was not her action quite possibly the out- 
come of the mad passions which dominated the crowd 
rather than any deliberate desire to destroy a per- 
sonal enemy ? With grave questions such as these 
unanswered it is not possible to be sure that an 
accusation of wilful intent to murder against her 
would be just. On the other hand, to hold her 
innocent is impossible. Only a few moments earlier 
she had been speaking to the crowd of people, sway- 
ing them to her lightest will ; and though it is true 



Sule^u 313 

that they had escaped her control, it seems probable 
that had she urged them to stay their hands Suleau 
might have been saved — at least, for the time being. 

There is one important point in her favour. The 
first victim of all was the Abbe Bouyon, editor of 
Les Folies d'un Mots — also guilty ot maligning The- 
roigne, and no doubt equally an object of her hate ; 
but it has never been suggested that she was in any 
degree implicated in his death. Carried away by the 
tragic turn the Revolution was taking, she may have 
come to the point when she was tainted by the 
general belief that no measures short of violence and 
massacre were possible. If that be the case, she had 
gone a long way since the day when she had desired 
to take only an academic interest in the political 
upheaval — when she had been a reformer, and not 
a fighter. In this attitude she was not alone ; hun- 
dreds, nay, thousands, had been infected by the same 
thirst for blood — the spirit which led, within the suc- 
ceeding twelve months, to the excesses committed in 
the name of liberty under the shadow of the guillotine. 

If Theroigne must be blamed for the responsibility 
of one man's death, she had, at least, far less upon 
her conscience than hundreds of the men with whom 
she was working and struggling side by side. In 
her normal state she was not by nature cruel — quite 
the reverse ; and if she were guilty of an act of 
cruelty to Suleau, the abnormal conditions of the 
hour in which the deed was done must not be ignored 
when estimating her culpability. 

Suleau's position was enough to bring the manner 
of his death into particular prominence. He was 



314 A Woman of the Revolution 

very well known by the patriots as well as by the 
royalists. Born in Picardy in 1758, he had studied 
and travelled much, returning to Paris in August 
1789. He was many-sided. In his composition was 
a little of the soldier, a little of the lawyer, a good 
deal of the writer, and, first and foremost, the ad- 
venturer. He threw himself with the peculiar vivacity 
and gaiety natural to him into the thick of the 
activities. Before long he was arrested for Use-nation^ 
then newly a punishable crime, and was arraigned 
before the Chatelet. His trial was a judicial comedy. 
He railed and mocked at the accusation, at the 
judges, at the people, at the whole world. In April 
1790 he was released, but he had not learned 
wisdom. Hot-headed as ever, he made himself well 
hated as a pamphleteer, being largely responsible for 
the notoriety attained by the Actes des Apotres. Still 
his love of danger and intrigue were unsatiated. 
His characteristics won for him the nickname of 
" Chevalier de la Difficulte." 

At the close of 1791 he went to Coblenz and 
worked amongst the emigres with more energy than 
discretion, conspiring with foreign princes, and acting 
against the national interests of France. As was not 
surprising for a man of his class and temperament, 
he gained the hatred of the patriots without ingrati- I 
ating himself with the noblesse. Neither the French j 
aristocracy nor the foreign powers trusted him or 1 
took his efforts seriously, and this blow to his pride \ 
kept him temporarily inactive. But in August he 
had been working on the side of the royalist party. 
He was amongst those who, dressed in the uniform 



Suleau 3 1 5 

of the National Guard, were sent out to report on 
the condition and temper of the people. It was said 
that on the morning of the 9th Suleau told his 
friend Le Sourd that he had been warned by Camille 
Desmoulins that a price had been placed upon his 
(Suleau's) head, and Camille had offered him a refuge 
at his own house, which he refused. Le Sourd met 
him twice during the succeeding twenty-four hours — 
the first time he was following in the track of Potion, 
who had been ordered to the bar of the Legislative 
Assembly to give an account of the chances of public 
tranquillity, the second time was shortly before his 
arrest, when he invited Le Sourd to his house in the 
Place Vendome to take refreshments. " It was then," 
says his friend, " that, leaving the terrace of the 
Feuillants and crossing the court, he was arrested. 
The too famous Th6roigne de Mericourt was estab- 
lished there on a makeshift platform. She did not 
know Suleau, but he had been pointed out to her 
by the chiefs of the conspiracy as a necessary victim. 
One of the furies round her having named him to 
her, she designated him to one of the hired assassins 
near to her, who thereupon massacred him. His 
body was dragged to the right-hand corner of the 
Place Vendome, under our very windows, and was 
placed there with those of eight other victims." 

A dramatic account of the affair, which, however, 
in many details is wanting in accuracy, is from the 
pen of Baron Thiebault, Lieutenant-General in the 
French Army. 

On the night of August 9th preparations had been 
made at the Tuileries to repel the threatened attack 



3i6 A Woman of the Revolution 

of the people. False patrols had been ordered to sally 
forth dressed as National Guards, their apparent object 
to keep the peace ; in reality to slaughter the people 
if the chance came. Drums rolled, there was the 
clash of arms, the tocsin boomed. A skirmish between 
the false and the real Guards was in progress, and 
many of the former were carried prisoner to the 
ofuardroom in the Cour de Feuillants. 

Hearing this news, the people crowded into the 
court early in the morning of the loth. 

" The courtyard was getting fuller and fuller, and 
the cries became appalling," writes Thiebault. *' I 
determined then to send La Fargue to the officer 
commanding the Butte des Moulins battalion, which 
waff assembled fourteen hundred strong in the Place 
Vendome, asking for reinforcements. He would 
only have to cross the Rue Saint-Honore, while 
two hundred men would suffice to clear the court- 
yard of the Feuillants, and enable us to close the gates 
and disperse the rabble. But the commander, whose 
name I have forgotten, replied that without orders he 
could not detach a man outside his section. La 
Fargue replied, ' Well, sir, if they cut our throats 
and murder our prisoners you will have one advantage, 
namely, that of being in a front-row box.' " 

Thiebault tried a last resource, since he could not 
get reinforcements. He rushed into the midst of the 
crowd, mounted on one of the two guns which stood 
in the courtyard, and harangued the people from this 
improvised platform. " Are you Frenchmen ? " he 
cried. " So are we no less. Are you patriots ? So 
are we no less. But you will cease to be worthy 



Suleau 3 1 7 

of one or the other title if you cannot get beyond 
the detestable idea of replacing justice by assassina- 
tion. You will indeed be rebels, for the Assembly 
has put the prisoners under our guardianship. What 
have you then to demand } It can be only one thing, 
namely, that the prisoners — against nearly all of whom, 
by the way, there is no charge — should not escape. 
Well, I answer for them on my honour. I will be 
responsible with my own head, and, if that is not 
guarantee enough, I will add to their guard any three 
of you whom you like to choose." 

Some of the crowd made answer, to which Thiebault 
replied, endeavouring by every means in his power to 
gain time. Just as he was congratulating himself on 
the success of his efforts Theroigne de Mericourt 
entered the courtyard. She was dressed in a black 
felt hat with a black plume, a blue amazone, and 
carried pistols and a dagger in her belt. " She was 
a dark girl of about twenty," writes Thiebault, "and, 
with a sort of shudder I say it, very pretty, made 
still more beautiful by her excitement. Preceded and 
followed by a number of maniacs, she cleft her way 
through the crowd, crying ' Make room ! make room ! ' 
went straight to the other gun and leapt upon it. . . . 
Having heard what was going on, she had hurried 
up from Robespierre's house, and, confident in her 
influence with the populace, she had come to restore 
all its ferocity to the mob. As long as I live that 
creature will be present before my eyes ; the sound 
of her voice will ring in my cars as she uttered the 
first sentence of her discourse. * How long,' she 
shrieked, ' will you let yourselves be misled by empty 



3i8 A Woman of the Revolution 

phrases ? ' I tried to answer, but I could no longer 
make myself heard. A thousand voices greeted with 
applause every word that she uttered." 

Compelled to silence and at the end of his wits, 
Thiebault got off the gun and forced his way through 
the angry crowd back to the guardroom. He shut 
and locked the door behind him. Furious, the mob 
hurled themselves against it. The upper part was of 
glass ; it splintered, the broken panes flying into the 
defenders' faces. At the end of a narrow passage were 
a score of men armed with bayonets and loaded 
muskets. To force their way through the passage 
or through the iron-barred window meant loss of life 
to all who attempted it. The mob halted. 

** They found it more dignified," continued Thie- 
bault, " to put me on my trial, their beautiful fury, 
Mile de M^ricourt, presiding, and to condemn me, 
unanimously and by acclamation, to death. I never 
saw her again after that day, but, though I am as 
susceptible as most men to the influence of women, 
I certainly never met another woman who, in half 
an hour, could have left on my mind a recollection 
of her which a thousand years would not weaken." 

Suleau's handsome face and upright bearing made 
him appear a conspicuous figure. Seeing the danger 
of his fellow prisoners, he cried : " Comrades, I beheve 
that the people mean to shed blood to-day, but perhaps 
one victim will satisfy them. Let me go to them. 
I will pay for all." He accompanied these words with 
an attempt to leap from the window, but he was kept 
back by the National Guard. It was at this moment 
that the mob burst into the building. The first victim 



Suleait 3 1 9 

was a harmless dramatic author of the name of Bouyon, 
who was carried forth into the courtyard and rent 
limb from limb. Suleau was seized and despoiled 
of his uniform and arms. As he struggled, Theroigne, 
who had rushed into the guardroom at the head of 
the crowd, caught sight of him. 

The accounts accuse her of a fury which knew no 
bounds. " Where is the Abbe Suleau ? " she cried, 
and then, coming face to face with him, she hurled 
more personal questions at him. "Am 1 the mistress 
of Populus .? Am I old ? Am I hideous ? " And, 
throwing herself upon him, she seized him by the 
throat and dragged him into the thick of the murderous 
rabble. Hundreds of arms were stretched out to 
avenge her. Suleau fought like a lion attacked by 
twenty madmen, but before a moment had passed 
he was pierced by a dozen swords, and his body 
was flung out into the Place Vendome with those of 
eight or nine more victims. 

" Thus perished the amiable Suleau," writes the 
royalist Peltier, who was an eye-witness of these scenes, 
*' whose gaiety, candour, and friendship endeared him 
to me. 

At the time of his death Suleau was thirty-five, and 
had recently married Adela Hall, the daughter of the 
artist. The fact that he left a young widow to mourn 
his death made the horror of it more poignant. 

" Ah, amiable Suleau," wrote his friend Peltier, 
" since the hand of thy young wife could not perform 
the last fond duty of closing thy eyes in death, let 
friendship at least be allowed to scatter a few flowers 
over thy ashes. Thou art no more ! It was thy fate 
19 



'S±o A Woman of the Revolution 

to expire with French monarchy. Thy loyalty has 
already received its reward ; in dying first thou hast 
not been witness to the long series of disasters which 
have made us every day since experience a thousand 
deaths." 

The murder of the royalists whetted the excite- 
ment of the people. Rushing from the guardroom 
through the courtyard, they joined the crowd who 
were marching on to attack the palace. 

The King and Queen, being informed that they 
were no longer safe in the Tuileries, had decided to 
seek refuge with the legislative body in the Salle 
de Manege. " The King is going to the Assembly ; 
make room ! " cried Roederer. At first no obstacle 
was placed in the way of a free passage, and crest- 
fallen royalty defiled by the staircase leading to the 
terrace of the Feuillants, where the crowd hemmed 
it in. After a delay of a quarter of an hour, after 
urging and pleading, and the employment of slight 
physical compulsion, a way was cleared for the King, 
and his Majesty was permitted to resume the path 
which led for ever from the Tuileries. The Queen 
had lost her usual fortitude, and her face showed signs 
of tears; Madame Royale wore the bewildered look 
of fear which was becoming habitual; the Dauphin, 
wearied and sickly, was borne on the shoulders of a 
grenadier. 

In the Assembly chamber the King took his seat 
beside the president. But the legislative body were 
hindered by convention from debating openly in the 
King's presence, and decided that the royal family 



Suleau 321 

must retire into a small box used by the reporters 
of a certain journal, which was partitioned off at the 
back of the hall. There for fourteen hours they 
remained without repose or refreshment, cramped in 
this prison that was but a few feet square. Inside 
the hall the drone of the speakers' voices continued, 
outside the ominous murmur of a gathering throng 
was heard. The hot sun poured down upon the 
Queen as she sat there, causing her to fall into a 
drowsy nightmare that was but half sensation. Then 
a new sound stirred her into consciousness ; it was the 
boom of guns, the crash of falling glass and masonry, 
the shrieks of the wounded and dying. 

The story of that attack upon the Tuileries has been 
told over and over again, and while the details grow 
wearisome, the horror of it must ever seem acute. 
The abode of royalty had become a battleground. The 
rabble, possibly still unaware of the King's departure, 
beat down the courtyard gates and turned their guns 
upon the palace. The royalists, reluctant to fire 
on the people, hoped that conciliatory measures might 
stem the rush of the aggressive crowd. But a short 
parley showed their hope was vain. Shots were dis- 
charged on both sides. The Swiss entrenched on 
the main stairway were subjected to a shower of balls. 
Rushing out from the barrier, they opened a fusillade 
on the Marseillais, and for a moment it appeared that 
the people might be successfully driven back. It was 
then that the ill-advised written order to cease firing 
was handed to the Swiss. The Marseillais and Bretons 
rallied and stormed the palace. They massacred those 
of the Swiss who were still within, they sacked the 



322 A Woman of the Revolution 

royal abode, destroying the last vestige of the King's 
authority. The republicans were the men of the 
hour, and with them terror reigned in Paris. 

The immediate result of that day as far as Theroigne 
was concerned was a reward. In the Moniteur of 
September 3rd an entry occurs announcing that the 
federes had bestowed upon Miles Theroigne, Lacombe, 
and Reine Audu civic crowns for distinguishing them- 
selves by their courage on August loth. 



CHAPTER IX 

BRISSOTINE 

DURING many days republican fever ran riot in 
the blood of the people. The King and Queen 
were in the Temple. There was much to be said, 
much to be done, not a moment to waste. At the 
Jacobins Club this stress made itself felt as much as 
anywhere. There was something in the tone there 
which portended great issues. One intimate glimpse 
of Th6roigne, showing her at this moment of tense 
calm before the storm, we owe to Dr. John Moore, 
who had been studying the events of that week to 
some purpose. He had obtained a full view of the 
Queen, and had deplored the change in her appearance. 
*' Her beauty is gone. No wonder ! " he writes. 

A few days later, on the 17th, he visited the Jacobins, 
where " there was not, properly speaking, a debate, but 
rather a series of violent speeches," and saw the daughter 
of the people. 

*' There were abundance of women in the galleries," 
he continues, " but as there were none in the body of 
the hall where the members were seated, I was surprised 
to see one enter and take her seat amongst them. She 
was dressed in a kind of English riding-habit, but her 
jacket was the uniform of the National Guards. On 
inquiry I was informed that the name of this Amazon 

323 



324 A Woman of the Revolution 

is Mademoiselle Theroigne ; she distinguished herself 
in the action of the loth by rallying those who 
fled, and attacking a second time at the head of the 
Marseillais. 

" She seems about one or two and thirty/ is some- 
what above the middle size of women, and has a smart 
martial air, which in a man would not be disagreeable." 
That day the partisans of Robespierre were so loud 
in their demonstrations that any speaker whose senti- 
ments happened not to be quite in accord with theirs 
was howled down and the tribune given up to some 
one who had a more palatable doctrine to propound. 

The great issues were about to begin at the point 
of the knife. The people, having steeped their hands 
in crime and bloodshed, were not brought back easily 
within bounds of moderation. 

At the beginning of September massacres were 
carried out systematically. Butchers stalked through 
the jails slaughtering the prisoners like sheep. There 
was carnage everywhere — at the Abbaye, at the 
Chatelet, at La Force, at the Conciergerie, the Bicetre, 
and La Salpetri^re, the place of durance vile of which 
Theroigne was before long to gain an extended know- 
ledge. 

It is impossible to depict the disorder that existed, 
or to explain the paralytic inaction of those in authority 
and of the masses of more peaceable inhabitants, who did 
not even denounce the doings of the murderers, or 
attempt to interfere with this wholesale slaughter. 
The blood that was being spilt incited all who had 
shared in the spilling to continue their gruesome 

* Dr. Moore overestimated her age. 



Brissotine 325 

labours. The women of the Revolution joined in 
these diabolical doings. Following in the footsteps 
of Billaud-Varennes, who, wading through blood, cried 
" Bring wine for the brave toilers who are about to 
deliver the nation from its foes," they remarked 
facetiously that they were carrying dinner to the 
husbands who were at work in the prisons. 

In contrast to their ferocious attitude, such brave 
royalist women as Elizabeth Cazotte and Mile de 
Sombreuil, amongst others, stand out as wonderful 
examples of courage, sacrifice, and filial piety. The 
former, throwing herself between her father and his 
would-be assassins, cried, "Strike, if you must, you 
scoundrels, but you will not get at him except over my 
dead body " ; and the latter was credited with having 
gulped down without a murmer of disgust a glass 
containing the blood of an aristocrat — a nauseous 
draught forced upon her by the murderous demagogues 
as the price of her father's release. 

It is impossible to say with certainty whether 
Th6roigne, excited as she was by her activities on 
August loth, restrained herself from staining her hands 
with additional crime during these days of unbridled 
licence. The best evidence that can be put forward 
in favour of her innocence is the fact that she with- 
drew her support from the extreme party to bestow 
it upon the cause of the moderates. 

August loth had put the Girondins temporarily in 
power. On September 21st the Convention superseded 
the Legislative Assembly. The Girondins formed the 
Conservative party, with Brissot, Vergniaud, and Gaudet 
at their head. On the Left were the extremists, the 



326 A Woman of the Revolution 

Montagnards, led by Robespierre, Marat, Danton, 
the Due d'Orleans, now called Philippe Egalite, and 
Th^roigne's former friend, Collot d'Herbois. The 
hostility was acute, and, taking into consideration 
the trend of affairs, could have but one end. It was 
the desire of the Moderates to destroy the ascendancy 
of those whom they believed to be responsible for the 
massacres, and to disperse the hired bands of assassins 
who were giving expression to the feeling of revenge 
dominating the masses. This task was no easy one. 
Against them were the triumvirate of front-rank repub- 
licans, Robespierre, Danton, and Marat. More 
organising power and diplomacy, less brilliancy and 
oratory, would have been needed by the Girondins to 
bring to book such strong and obstinate antagonists. 
Between the extreme parties there vacillated and tem- 
porised the Centre of the Convention. Hating Marat 
and all his works, yet dreading the power of the 
Commune, they extended no definite help to the Right. 
The struggle, often renewed, yet never decisive, 
gradually strengthened the position of the Montag- 
nards, to whom the entire sympathies of the Jacobins 
were now given — no mean support, taking into con- 
sideration that the galleries of the house were usually 
filled with their adherents, who noisily shouted down 
the Girondins, whilst encouraging their opponents with 
applause. 

The internal situation, being thus unstable, was 
much complicated by the position of foreign affairs. 
For a while the French had been successful in the 
battlefield. War had been declared against the King 
of Sardinia, and French troops occupied Savoy. Cus- 



Brissotine 327 

tine, with 18,000 men, had succeeded in driving the 
Prussians before him in Lorraine, capturing Mainz and 
Frankfort. The allied army retreating, Dumouriez set 
out to invade Belgium. 

At this point a vague rumour is heard of Th6- 
roigne. In the Correspondance Litter aire Secrete of 
October 20th a note states that she had returned to 
her native country just when the army of Dumouriez 
was facing the Prussians there and about to make 
war on the Low Country. A strange report to have 
come into print if it contained no truth, yet it is 
not substantiated by any biographer. Dumouriez, 
having left Paris on October 17th, reached Liege on 
November 27th. On the 9th of that month Theroigne 
wrote a letter from Paris to Perregaux, from which it 
is clear that she was in worse financial straits than 
ever before, for she sent a messenger with an appeal 
to No. 9, Rue Mirabeau, addressed to " Citizen Perre- 
gaux, or to his clerk, should he be absent," in the 
following urgent terms : " Citizen, I beg you will 
give the hundred livres you promised me yesterday to 
the woman who brings this letter." On January 28th 
following she made another application to M. de Lim- 
bourg, friend of the Baron de Selys, who was then 
at Theux, near Li6ge, about her jewels. This note 
was signed "La Citoyenne Theroigne," and addressed 
from the Rue Saint-Honor^, No. 273, near the 
Jacobins. By that time Dumouriez was back in Paris. 
If, therefore, she had really been with his army, the 
visit to her own country was a short one and can have 
had but little significance. At any rate, the conqueror 
of Jemappes had no great opinion of her ability, for, 



32 8 A Woman of the Revolution 

in his " Memoirs," after especially praising Mme 
Roland and Mme Necker, he classes Mile la Brousse, 
Mme de Stael, Mme Condorcet, Pastoret, Coigny, and 
Th6roigne as " either artful females, like those who 
haunted the courts of former times, or differing in 
nothing from the vulgar and furious women of the 
faubourgs of Paris." 

Between August loth, then, and the beginning of 
May 1793, Th6roigne has baffled her biographers. 
More important personages were commanding atten- 
tion. The execution of the King in January, the 
anguish of the Queen, the slow crushing of the 
Girondins, the rise of the Montagnards, kept every 
chronicler busy. Theroigne was doubtless living in 
the rooms near the Jacobins, frequenting the clubs, 
perhaps holding gatherings of her own and mingling 
more or less conspicuously with the street crowds in 
these, some of the most anxious months in all the 
history of the Revolution. On the whole, she had 
probably a good reason for remaining comparatively 
quiet. In the spring the position of the Girondins 
was becoming critical. Failing in their foreign policy, 
in their attempt to save the King, as well as in main- 
taining any pretence of internal equilibrium, they were 
tottering before the downfall. 

At this hour of internal dissension, of wavering in 
the sections, of military disaster (caused in part by 
Dumouriez's treachery in allying himself with Coburg), 
of rebellion in La Vendee, of the interference of 
England under Pitt's policy, of utter lawlessness and 
anarchy, Theroigne chose to declaim a stirring appeal 
to the sections, exhorting them to rally and make a 



Brissotine 329 

final stand. There was much of her usual fire, of her 
wonderful power to carry her audience with her, in 
the speech, which was afterwards printed and placarded 
on the walls throughout the city. Although diffuse 
and containing many grammatical errors, its fervour 
outweighs such deficiencies. It is a typical publication 
of that day, and throws a glaring light upon the 
desperate condition of affairs and the internal disunion 
of the country. It has rarely, if ever, been quoted 
in full, and not at all in English. Addressed to 
the Forty-eight Sections, it was printed by Dufart, 
Rue Saint-Honore, on blue-grey paper, and runs as 
follows : 

" Citizens ! Hear me ! I am not going to utter 
fine phrases ; I am going to tell you the pure and 
simple truth. Where do we stand ? All the con- 
flicting passions which have been aroused are liable 
to carry us away. We are almost on the edge of 
the precipice. Citizens, let us stop and reflect. It is 
time. On my return from Germany, almost eighteen 
months ago, I told you that the Emperor had a pro- 
digious number of agents here to sow discord amongst 
us, in order to prepare civil war at a distance, and 
that his plan was to cause it to break out at the 
moment when his satellites should be ready to make 
a general effort to invade our territory. That is where 
we stand ! They have reached the point of a denoue- 
ment^ and we are ready to fall into the trap. The 
preliminary altercations of civil war have taken place 
already in some sections. Pay attention, then, and let 
us examine calmly who are the instigators, in order 
that we may recognise our enemies. 



33° A Woman of the Revolution 

" Misfortune be on your head, citizens, if you allow 
such scenes to be renewed. If people come to fisticuffs, 
and use abusive language, unworthy of citizens, they 
will soon go farther, and I can foresee that their 
passions will be heated to such a point that it will 
no longer be in your power to hinder the explosion. 
These manceuvres have three aims — civil war, there 
is no doubt, that of justifying the calumnies of kings, 
and of their slaves, who pretend that it is not possible 
that the people can assemble to exercise its sovereignty 
without abusing it. This is a branch of the great 
conspiracy against democracy. 

'* Citizens, let us grasp democracy so firmly that 
it can never escape us. Baffle these intrigues by your 
rectitude, your justice, and your wisdom. By these 
means you will give the lie to your calumniators. 

"What about their wish to detain, for as long as 
possible, the remainder of the contingent which Paris 
ought to furnish . to march against the rebels in the 
Vendue ? They desire, it would appear, that instead 
of carrying help to our brothers they should have 
to come amongst us to restore harmony. It is actu- 
ally the aim of the King's agents to create a diversion, 
to weaken us by setting one against the other, for, 
whilst we flew at one another's throats, the rebels — 
backed up by the English, who would not be long 
in descending upon our shores, if the intrigues of 
Pitt continue to shackle us, and to hinder us from 
seriously considering our position, during that time — the 
rebels, I say, who, to our shame be it known, are more 
united and firm in defending despotism and religious 
prejudices than we are to defend liberty, will make 



Bfissotinc 331 

better progress than we are able to calculate, because 
we have not their passionate force, since men who 
have placed themselves midway between victory and 
death fight in desperation. In agreement with the 
Imperialists, the Prussians, and the coalition of powers, 
they will advance from every side. Our armies and 
our generals, not knowing if they are fighting for 
the Republic, or for the parties, or for a tyrant whom 
they justly fear to see raise himself as in Rome to 
put an end to the discords, will grow discouraged. 

*' Besides, the feeble citizens, those who up till now 
have remained undecided, but who would declare 
themselves if our unity and strength received a strong 
impetus, discouraged by these same motives and seduced 
by perfidious promises such as are contained in the 
Proclamation of Coburg, would remain in their waver- 
ing state. And so if we fall into the trap prepared 
for us, and the kings succeed in producing an outburst 
of civil war amongst the most fiery citizens, and 
seducing or discouraging the others, how shall we save 
ourselves from their satellites ? How shall we stem 
this torrent of hostility on the part of enemies who will 
combine their efforts at the very moment when we 
shall be most divided against ourselves ? Oh, terrible 
thought ! It is impossible to pursue it. 

" Citizens, let us stop and reflect or we are lost. 
The moment has arrived when it is to the interest 
of all to reunite, to sacrifice our hates and our passions 
for the public welfare. If the voice of the country, the 
sweet hope of fraternity, does not inspire us, let us 
consider our closest interests. All united, we are none 
too strong to repulse our numerous enemies from 



332 A Woman of the Revolution 

without, and those who have already raised the standard 
of rebellion. Nevertheless I warn you that our enemies 
will make no distinction between the parties ; we shall 
all be confounded on the day of vengeance. I can say 
that there is not a single patriot who has made himself 
conspicuous during the Revolution concerning whom 
I have not been questioned. All the inhabitants of 
Paris are indiscriminately proscribed, and I have heard 
those who wished to make me depose against the 
patriots say a thousand times that it would be necessary 
to exterminate half the French to subdue the other 
half. To exterminate us, vile slaves ! It is you we 
should exterminate. Danger is going to reunite us, 
and we are going to show you what men who desire 
liberty, and who work for the cause of the human race, 
can do. We shall all march forth, rich and poor alike, 
and those who, having the necessary means, send sub- 
stitutes will be covered with infamy. Surely, then, 
it is in vain, tyrants of the earth, that you send your 
agents here, that you scatter your gold ! The French 
are too clever to be caught in the trap you have set for 
them, and to go astray. We desire liberty, and will 
defend ourselves with our last drops of blood. Eternal 
justice is on our side, and only lies and crime on yours. 
Judge your cause and ours, and say to whom shall 
be the victory. 

" The smallest things sometimes lead to the greatest. 
The Roman women disarmed Coriolanus and saved 
their country. 

*' Recollect, citizens, that previous to August loth 
not one of you broke the silken thread which separated 
the terrace of the Feuillants from the Tuileries gardens. 



Brissotine 333 

Sometimes the least thing will stay the most forcible 
outpouring of passions with greater success than all the 
force that might be opposed to it. 

" Consequently I propose that in each section there 
shall be chosen six of the most virtuous citoyennes, the 
gravest for their age, to conciliate and reunite the 
citizens, to remind them of the dangers by which 
the country is threatened. They shall wear a wide 
sash, on which will be inscribed the words * Friendship 
and Fraternity.' Every time there is a general assembly 
of the section, they shall gather for the purpose of 
calling to order every citizen who stands aside and 
who does not respect the liberty of opinions, which 
is so necessary in forming a good public spirit. Those 
who have gone astray, but nevertheless have good inten- 
tions, and love their country, will be silent. But if those 
of bad faith who have been bribed by the aristocrats, 
by the enemies of the democracy, and the agents of the 
king to interrupt, to speak abusively, and to come 
to blows, show no more respect for the voices of the 
citoyennes than for that of the president, we shall at 
least have the means of knowing them. And a note 
can be taken of their names in order that inquiries may 
be prosecuted on their account. These citoyennes 
can be changed every month. Those who show the 
highest virtue, firmness, and patriotism in the glorious 
ministry of reuniting the citizens, and of obtaining 
respect for the liberty of opinions, might be re-elected 
for the space of a year. Their reward would be to 
have a special place at our national fetes, and to super- 
intend the educational institutions consecrated to our 
sex. 



J 34 A Woman of the Revolution 

** There, citizens, is an idea which I submit to your 
notice." 



The nature of Theroigne's plans for those of her 
own sex who could share in the active work of the 
Revolution had undergone a distinct modification since 
1792. She no longer desired that women should arm 
and fight side by side with men ; it was better that 
they should occupy themselves with the spreading of 
propaganda and bringing encouragement to those who 
vacillated. 

This was the work she wished her sisters to do, 
and to this she urged them with all the strength 
she possessed. But as far as can be judged her propo- 
sitions were not received with enthusiasm. They were 
too openly Girondist, although the Gironde is not 
mentioned in her speech. The broadside is dated only 
by internal evidence. The Proclamation of Coburg 
was issued on April 5th, 1793, but there are still later 
references : firstly to the scenes of violence at the begin- 
ning of May in various sections which had been provoked 
by the Decree of the Commune on the ist of the 
month proclaiming the necessity of raising a Parisian 
army to march against the Vendeans ; as well as to a 
supplementary decree by the Convention on the 8 th, 
relative to the numbers which each section was to 
furnish. The exact date is of importance, because 
Theroigne had thrown her last effective die in the 
cause of liberty. Within a week of her proud protest 
she was to be utterly humbled, and her dignity was 
to have fled from her for ever. Like many another 
who suffered for an excess of zeal, she was destroyed 




'^-^^^ 



V 



■f 




''''■**^ 



/ 



\ 



s, \ 



X, 



\, 



\ \ 



TH^ROIGNE AT THE SALPKTRIERE, 
From an engraving at the Bibliotheque Nationale after a drawing by Gabriel. 



335 



Brissotine 337 

by the very passions she had been instrumental in 
arousing. An event occurred in the second week of 
May which was a downward step in her deplorable fate. 

There were women in Paris who were growing ever 
more lawless, and who were banding together in various 
societies for more or less nefarious purposes. 

From the beginning of the year the more violent of 
them had formed a political organisation called the 
Club de Citoyennes Revolutionnaires. They demanded 
a hall for their meetings, they sent deputations to the 
authorities, they conspired riotously to bring about the 
downfall of the Girondins. They did duty as sentries, 
they crowded the tribunes of the Conventions, and 
influenced the debates by their shrieks and vocifera- 
tions. They were only one step less abandoned than 
the so-called furies orTricoteuses, Robespierre's knitting- 
women, who were drawn from the scum of Paris — 
women from the gutters, from the thieves' dens, 
viragoes and unfortunates. No deeds that could be 
devised were too criminal, too extravagant, or too 
outrageous for the perpetration of these outcasts. 
They acted as spies, they escorted prisoners to jail 
and to the guillotine, hurling blasphemies in their 
tortured ears; they danced to the noisy, wild revolu- 
tionary songs, and gave way openly to drunkenness 
and debauchery. They were paid for hooting and 
applauding, for demanding revenge, punishment, death, 
or destruction according to the signal given by those 
who employed them, and distributed amongst them 
the wages of their shame. 

The group of women who made it their business to 
do the dirty work of the Jacobins, hounding down the 

20 



33 S A Woman of the Revolution 

Girondins, gathering both within and without the 
Convention, mounting guard at the doors to intercept 
those who were not of their party, opposing all by- 
word or action who held other views from theirs, had 
become a menacing feature of the days of trouble and 
tumult during May. On the 15th, Theroigne, passing 
along the terrace of the Feuillants, came boldly down 
the street and close to the door of the Convention 
encountered these dangerous women. Exactly what 
took place it is difficult to state, but a conjflict between 
the women appears to have arisen on the subject of 
Brissot. The restless, scheming journalist, whom 
Carlyle described as "a man of the windmill species 
that grinds always, turning towards all winds, not in 
the steadiest manner," had been hunted out of the 
Jacobins Club in the previous October, and since that 
had been particularly hated by the extremists. 
Theroigne's friendship for him, or at least her sympathy 
with his aims, was no secret. '* Down with Brissot 
and the Brissotins," cried the Megaeras, perhaps see- 
ing the object of their contempt and hatred. Thdroigne 
intervened, calling to them to be silent. They hooted 
and derided her. Furious and outraged by their 
threats, she tried to gain ascendancy over the aggressive 
rabble by means of her old gift, oratory. But the 
tongue in this case was not a sufficiently effective 
weapon against their determination to inflict physical 
chastisement. She had no other resources. The ex- 
cited citoyennes refused to listen. Seizing her roughly, 
they stripped her clothes from her back, and beat her 
unmercifully. There was no opportunity for self- 
defence against such numbers. Only by chance was 



Brissotine 339 

she rescued in the nick of time, and thus escaped death. 
It might have been better for her if the mad and 
wicked creatures who set upon her had then and there 
been allowed to finish their gruesome purpose. 

Among the accounts of the affair one occurs in the 
Police Report of May i6th, describing it as follows : 

" The women who gather at the doors of the Con- 
vention yesterday placed a detachment of their body 
at the doors of the first tribunes at nine o'clock in the 
morning, to hinder the women favoured by the deputies 
from passing in with admission cards. They per- 
formed this self-imposed task with insolence of the 
worst kind. . . . Citoyenne Theroigne, beaten by 
these furies, told them she would sooner or later make 
them bite the dust." 

Another is to be found in the Courrier des Departe- 
ments of May i yth : 

" A heroine of the Revolution experienced a slight 
check the day before yesterday on the terrace of the 
Feuillants. Mile Theroigne, who, it was said, was 
recruiting women for the Rolandin faction, unfortu- 
nately addressed herself to the followers of Robespierre 
and of Marat, who, not wishing to augment the army 
of Brissotins, seized the female recruiter and fusti- 
gated her with great activity. The Guard arrived and 
saved the victim from the fury of these indecent 
maniacs. Marat, who was passing, took the beaten 
one under his protection." 

The Revolutions de Paris of the i8th says : "For the 
last few days a number of women have been policing 
the Tuileries gardens and the corridors of the National 
Convention. They have taken it upon themselves to 



340 A Woman of the Revolution 

examine all the cockades and stop the people whom 
they suspect of wavering. It was they who on the 
15th of the month gave the whip to Theroigne, calling 
her Brissotine." 

The story told by Barras in his " Memoirs " is 
somewhat different, but is interesting because it ampli- 
fies the suggestion in the Courrier des Departements that 
Marat came to Theroigne's rescue. 

" One of the early feminine notabilities of 1789, who 
had not ceased to bestir herself, Mile Theroigne — 
very well known in Paris, owing especially to her 
democratic sentiments having become suspected of 
backsliding — was arrested by the populace and brought 
before the committee with head-quarters at the Feuil- 
lants to the repeated cries of ' To a lamp-post with 
her ! ' The crowd became so great, so considerable 
and threatening, that the members of the committee 
despaired of saving the unfortunate Amazon ; when 
Marat arrived on the scene the danger was imminent 
for the members of the committee, who were delaying 
handing her over to the mercies of the mob. Marat 
said to them, ' I will save her.' Leading Mile 
Theroigne by the hand, he showed himself to the 
enraged people, saying : ^Citizens, are you bent on 
attempting the life of a woman ? Are you going to 
sully yourselves with such a crime } The law alone 
has the right to strike. Show your contempt for this 
courtesan and reserve your dignity, citizens.' The 
word of the friend of the people quieted the gathering. 
Marat, taking advantage of this moment of calm, 
dragged Mile Theroigne away and led her into the hall 
of the Convention, his bold action saving her life." 



Brissotine 341 

Among the many accounts of the assault by her 
historians were those by Michelet, who accused the 
Montagnards ; by Gabriel her contemporary, who spoke 
of the furies of the guillotine, Lamartine following his 
example ; the Goncourts say by Sans-Jupons ; Lalanne 
by women of the Soci6t6 Fraternelle ; Restif de la 
Breton by the royalist women of the Halles ; Duval, 
who is usually amongst the most vivid, contented him- 
self by saying that she was attacked '' by the crowd 
that gathered round her." As to the result of her 
punishment there is little doubt. For weeks Theroigne 
was ill and wretched. She had suffered both in mind 
and body. M6derer, when he had examined her state 
of health at Kufstein, had foreseen that excitement and 
overstrain were dangerous for her and that there was a 
tendency to mental affliction. He might have warned 
her that in throwing herself heart and soul into the 
people's cause she would be stricken by a fever that 
would attack the seat of reason itself. 

One of the most reliable pen-pictures of Theroigne 
was written at this period by George Forster, President 
of the University of Mainz, who was nominated by the 
people of that city to be their representative at Paris 
in the beginning of the Revolution. He dwelt on her 
intellectual gifts, threw light upon her position, and 
foreshadowed the brain trouble that was to overtake 
her before long. 

" Imagine," he says, *' a five- or eight-and-twenty 
year-old brown-haired maiden, with the most candid 
face, and features which were once beautiful, and are 
still partly so, and a simple steadfast character full of 
spirit and enthusiasm ; particularly something gentle 



342 A Woman of the Revolution 

in eye and mouth. Her whole being is wrapped up 
in her love of liberty. She talked much about the 
Revolution ; her opinions were without exception 
strikingly accurate and to the point. The ministry at 
Vienna she judged with a knowledge of facts which 
nothing but peculiar readiness of observation could 
have given. 

" She is from Luxemburg, and is naturally most eager 
for the freedom of her own country and for Germany. 
She speaks nothing but French, fluently and energeti- 
cally, though not altogether correctly. But who speaks 
it correctly now ^ She has a strong thirst for instruc- 
tion ; says she wishes to go into the country and 
there study to supply the deficiencies of her education. 
She wishes for the company of a well-informed man, 
who can read and write well ; and is ready to give him 
his board and two thousand livres a year. She is no 
more than a peasant-girl, she said, but has a taste 
for learning. She must still have enough to live upon, 
although she said she had used up her income, for 
she lives in quite good condition here and keeps a 
carriage. 

" Six or seven weeks ago the furies who sit in the 
tribunes of the Convention dragged her out into the 
garden of the Tuileries, beat her about the head with 
stones, and would have drowned her in the basin if 
help had not fortunately arrived. But since that 
time she has frightful headaches and looks wretchedly 
ill." 

The worst was to come. 



CHAPTER X 

LA SALPETRIERE 

FEW of the revolutionaries escaped a violent end. 
Nearly all Theroigne's associates suffered the 
final penalty of the law. Brissot, Barnave, Saint-Just, 
and Basire were guillotined. Petion's body was found 
partially devoured by wild dogs in a field whither he 
had fled from the scaffold. Romme stabbed himself 
to escape the executioners, Condorcet took poison for 
the same purpose. Collot d'Herbois was deported. 
The deaths of Robespierre, Marat, Danton are familiar 
to every one. But the fate that was meted out to 
Theroigne was as tragic as all these, and many may 
agree more tragic still. 

For over twenty years she was shut up in a mad- 
house, babbling of liberty, of equality, and of the rights 
of man. 

Many of her biographers stated that she went mad 
as a result of the ill treatment at the hands of the 
Jacobins women ; Lamartine, de Goncourt, and Michelet 
are amongst the number. Beaulieu says that soon after 
the assault she was in an asylum ; but Forster, as we 
know, saw her about two months later, and there 
appeared to be nothing worse the matter with her than 
that she complained of bad headaches. 

On July 5th she was still attending to financial 

343 



344 A Woman of the Revolution 

matters and wrote a business letter to MM. Le Couteulx 
et Cie, bankers to the Baron de Selys, about the settle- 
ment of a sum of one thousand five hundred and 
fifty-six livres claimed by the Baron. The letter 
contains reference to the much-disputed jewellery. A 
receipt was sent to her on the 9th of the month. That 
autumn — it was the autumn that witnessed the execu- 
tion of Marie-Antoinette — perhaps not till early in the 
following year, she suffered from mental aberration, 
which caused her to commit some absurdity or other 
which led to her arrest. Her brother Joseph, whom 
she had helped to train as an artist in Rome, published 
a notice in the spring of 1794, warning the authorities 
that his sister's mental condition did not warrant her 
administering her own estate, and begging that she 
might be put under restraint for the sake of her own 
safety and of those about her. It is quite probable 
that he knew the risk she ran of imprisonment, and 
feared lest harsher treatment would be her lot when 
confined in a dungeon than if she were placed in a 
madhouse. An order to this effect was made out on 
June 30th, 1794, but by that time Theroigne had been 
in a house of detention for three days. Her room 
on the fourth floor of the Rue Honore, No. 273, 
had been entered, her papers seized and sealed, and 
amongst her possessions was a sabre which the police 
confiscated. 

Then Joseph Terwagne, perhaps fearing the guillotine 
for her, again addressed the authorities. He informed 
them that the mental state of his sister being incurable 
madness, he was prepared to take entire charge of her, 
and desired to claim her liberty. He offered to make 



La Salpetri^re 345 

himself entirely responsible, and to provide her with 
every form of assistance which humanity and fraternity 
could suggest. Moreover, he promised to take every 
precaution rendered necessary and prudent by her 
condition. He was convinced that her arrest was 
the result of actions performed under aberration of 
intellect. 

On September 20th, 1794, her madness was certified 
to as of some standing, and she was removed from 
the house of detention in the Section Le Peletier and 
placed in an asylum in the Faubourg Marceau, no great 
distance from her brother's abode in the Rue Croule- 
barbe. In her lucid moments she appealed to friends 
or strangers to assist her in getting free. Once she 
leaned out of the window and called to a neighbour, 
who interested himself unavailingly in her position. 
Another time she had addressed a letter to Saint- Just, 
the olive-complexioned deputy for Aisne, which was 
afterwards found among his papers, and which bears 
evidences of a wandering mind. This letter was 
written two days before Saint-Just shared the fate of 
Couthon and Robespierre on July 28th, 1794. 

" Citizen Saint-Just," she writes, " I am still under 
arrest. I have lost precious time. I have written to 
you to beg you to send me two hundred livres, and 
to come and see me. I received no reply. I do not 
feel much gratitude towards the patriots for leaving me 
here, bereft of everything. It seems to me that they 
ought not to be indifferent that I am here, and that 
I am doing nothing. I sent you a letter in which I say 
that it is I who said I had friends in the palace of the 
Emperor, that I was unjust as far as Citizen Bosque was 



34^ A Woman of the Revolution 

concerned, and that I am sorry about it. They told 
me that I had forgotten to sign the letter. That was 
want of attention on my part. I should be charmed to 
see you for a moment. If you cannot come to me, 
if your time does not permit it, could I not be accom- 
panied on the way to see you ? I have a thousand 
things to say to you. It is necessary to establish the 
union ; it is necessary for me to develop all my plans, 
to continue to write as I have written. I have great 
things to say. I can assure you that I have made 
progress. I have neither paper, nor light, nor any- 
thing ; but even then it would be necessary that I 
should be free to be able to write. It is impossible to 
do anything here. My stay has taught me something, 
but if I remain longer, if I remain longer without doing 
anything, without publishing anything, I should learn 
to despise the patriots and the civic crown. You know 
that there has been discussion, both about you and me, 
and that the proof of union is in the results. There 
must be fine writings to give strong impulses. You 
know my principles. I am grieved never to have 
spoken to you before my arrest. I presented myself 
at your house. They told me that you were demhagi. 
It is to be hoped that the patriots will not leave me a 
victim to intrigue. I can still repair everything if you 
will aid me. But it is necessary that I should be where 
I shall be respected, for they neglect no means of show- 
ing contempt for me. I have already spoken to you 
of my plan. Whilst waiting until this can be arranged, 
until I have found a house where I can be safe from 
intrigue, where I can be worthily surrounded by virtue, 
I beg that they will send me back home. 



La Salpetriere 347 

*' I shall be under a thousand obligations if you will 
lend me two hundred livres. 
*' Farewell." 

By this time Th^roigne had been reduced to a sad 
state of helplessness. Carlyle describes it well : 

" The poor demoiselle's head and nervous system, 
none of the soundest, is so tattered and fluttered that 
it will never recover ; but flutter worse and worse till 
it crack : and within year and day we hear of her 
in madhouse and strait-waistcoat, which proves per- 
manent ! Such brown-locked figure did flutter, and 
inarticulately jabber and gesticulate, little able to speak 
the obscure meaning it had, through some segment of 
the eighteenth century of time." 

Villiers saw her at the Hotel Dieu in 1797, and 
described the vacant stare, the meaningless utterances 
which fell from her lips. On December 9th of that 
year she was transferred to the Salpetriere ; from 
there she went, on January nth, 1800, to the Petites 
Maisons, where she remained until her return to the 
Salpetriere on December 7th, 1807. 

Her romantic chroniclers follow her even into the 
retreat of the insane. 

The letters " published by the Vicomte de V y," 

written in reality by Lamothe Langon, purport to be 
her correspondence when at La Salpetriere. Their 
author claims that they contain the charms of fiction 
united with positive reality, of history more engaging 
than romance. He made her say : " The tranquillity 
of the spot is insupportable. One might sleep through 
the whole day. The cannon of the Pont Neuf never 



34 8 A Woman of the Revolution 

thunders. There is no singing of the * Marseillaise ' 
or the ^ Carmagnole ' in the neighbouring streets. . . . 
The sovereign people, where are they ? " Strange 
visions of crowds appeared to her in that quiet cell. 
She rarely knew she was alone. " All our old friends 
become our enemies ; follow one after the other. . . . 
If you could only see how they look at me ; if you 
could only hear their plaints ! . . . Danton, for 
example ! . . . And Suleau — Suleau. He rarely 
leaves me. He speaks little ; he stands apart ; he 
places himself by the window, against the door. 
Sometimes he appears enveloped in the curtains of 
my bed, only his mutilated and bleeding head show- 
ing, . . . The rascal ! He mocks at me, he offends 
my sight. . . . And I, sometimes I am frightened. 
Sometimes I charge at him, when he is not looking, 
and bury my finger-nails deep in his expressionless 
eyes." 

Other ghostly visitors appear : Robespierre, his 
brother, Robespierre le Jeune, Egalite, and Mirabeau. 
" The Count chuckles, the Prince grinds his teeth 
together, the lawyer plays foolish tricks. They say 
that their suffering is great. They are experiencing 
terrible pains and penalties below. They await me." 
And they vanish. 

Another chronicler gives a still more lurid glimpse 
of her madness. 

" She was seized with a fever," he says, " during 
which she raved of nothing but bloody heads and of 
devils demanding her as their prey. * Do you not 
see,' she would exclaim, *hell open under my feet, 
ready to swallow me up ! Do you not see Suleau, 



La Salpetri^re 349 

with his head on, though bleeding, calling out to me, 
*' Theroigne, you are my assassin ! the furies of hell 
are waiting for you, to torment you through all 
eternity ! 

But enough of such sensationalism. 

Towards 1808 Theroigne had periods of greater 
lucidity, and recognised among the visitors at the 
Salpetriere an official personage who had played a part 
in the Revolution. She heaped insults on his head, 
reproaching him for having betrayed the cause of the 
people. Several names have been suggested for this 
individual, among them those of Sieyes and of Reg- 
naud de Saint-Jean d'Angely. At this time the latter 
was busying himself on her behalf, being anxious to 
improve her condition if possible. 

On March 21st, 1808, he addressed a letter to the 
Prefect of the Department of Ourthe : 

" Monsieur," he wrote, " I beg you to make every 
inquiry possible at Mericourt, near to Liege, concern- 
ing the family of Mile Theroigne. 

" She has some money of her own, yet her relatives 
have left her in the hospital without resources and in 
a most deplorable condition. 

" I beg you will obtain all possible information as 
quickly as you can concerning the goods possessed and 
still in the possession of Mile Theroigne, 

"It is believed that this unfortunate being has been 
robbed." 

The Prefect of Ourthe put the matter into the 
hands of a subordinate, the sous-Prefect of Huy, on 
March 26th, 1808 ; but it was not until May 1809 
that a reply came to this appeal. It was written to 



3S^ A Woman of the Revolution 

the sous-Prefect of Huy on April 28th, 1809, by 
Sieur N. Biron, the Mayor of Filat, as follows : 

"When I received the letter which you did me 
the honour to write me on the 19th of this month, 
I hastened, sir, to make every inquiry possible con- 
cerning the supposed village of Mericourt, where 
the family of Mile Theroigne were said to have 
resided. 

" However, no village of this name exists in the 
district of Xhoris, nor in the canton of Ferrieres. 
But in seeking more deeply into the object of your 
inquiry, I have obtained some information concerning 
a lady who was known by this name, and who may 
have been a native of Mericourt in the department of 
Sambre and Meuse. 

'* At the rise of the Revolution there arrived at 
Xhoris an adventuress, dressed in a riding-habit and 
known as Theroigne de Mericourt, who was visiting 
some of her relatives of the name of Terwagne in this 
district. 

*' This lady spent some months in this country, and 
I believe I saw her myself sometimes in masculine 
clothes flirting with the coquettes of the neighbour- 
hood, and sometimes in clothes more befitting her sex 
and in the company of certain frivolous young men. 
She suddenly disappeared, and they said that she went 
back to Paris, from which city she apparently had 
come thither." 

Then he went on to say that the name of the family 
was Terwagne, but at that distance it was impossible 
for him to obtain better information concerning her 
relatives, although at Xhoris she might have distant 



La Salpetri^re 3S^ 

connections who were living a simple and regular life 
on small but definite means. 

During the interval which had occurred since his 
inquiry and the answer to it, Regnaud de Saint-Jean 
d'Angely had become Minister of State and might 
no doubt have used his authority to ameliorate the 
conditions in which Theroigne was living. Perhaps 
he had forgotten her existence by then, or, which is 
quite as probable, the authorities assured him that the 
manner in which she lived was more that of her own 
choice than of necessity. No change was made in her 
surroundings. 

The last account of her is a medical one written by 
Esquirol in his work on *' Insanity," but it gives an 
exaggerated picture of her actions in the Revolution. 

" Teroenne or Theroigne de Mericourt," he writes, 
" was a celebrated courtesan, born in the city of 
Luxemburg. She was of medium height, had chest- 
nut-coloured hair, large blue eyes, a changeful physiog- 
nomy, and a sprightly, free, and even elegant carriage. 
The girl, in the opinion of some of honourable birth, 
and in that of others springing from the rank of 
courtesans, acted a truly deplorable part during the 
first years of the Revolution. She was then from 
twenty-eight to thirty years of age. She devoted her- 
self to the various chiefs of the popular party, to 
whom she was of service in most of the riotous dis- 
turbances, and attempted, especially on the 5th and 
6th of October, 1789, to corrupt the Regiment of 
Flanders, by leading into its ranks women of ill-fame, 
and by distributing money among the soldiers. In 
1790 she was sent into the city of Liege to arouse the 



35"^ A Woman of the Revolution 

people. She there took a military rank. She made 
herself remarkable among this unbridled populace, 
which was sent to Versailles on the 5th and 6th of 
October, 1790. The Austrians arrested her in the 
month of January 1791. She was conducted to 
Vienna and confined in a fortress. The Emperor 
Leopold saw her, conversed with her, and caused her 
to be set at liberty in December of the same year. 
She returned to Paris, and once more appeared upon 
the stage during the period of the Revolution. She 
then made herself conspicuous upon the terraces of the 
Tuileries, and on the rostrum, haranguing the people 
with boldness, in order to bring them back to moderation 
and the Constitution. This course cannot suit her 
long. The Jacobins shortly repair to Teroenne, and 
we immediately see her appear, a red bonnet upon her 
head, a sword by her side, and a pike in her hand, 
commanding an army of women. She took an active 
part in the events of September 1792. Although it 
may not be proved that she participated in the massa- 
cres, it is said, nevertheless, that she entered the court 
of the abbey and with her sword cut off the head of 
an unfortunate man whom they were conducting to 
the tribunal of this prison. We are assured that it 
was a former lover. 

"When the Directory was established and popular 
associations ceased, Theroigne lost her reason. She 
was taken to a house in the Suburb St. Marceau. 
They found among the papers of Saint-Just a letter 
from her, dated July 26th, 1794, in which signs of 
a wandering intellect are shown. In November 1800 
she was sent to the Salpetriere, and in the following 



La Salpetri^re 353 

month was transferred to the Petites Maisons, where 
she remained seven years. When the Administration 
of Hospitals caused the insane to be removed from the 
Petites Maisons, Th6roigne returned to the Salpetriere, 
September 1807. She was then about forty-seven 
years of age. At the time of her admission she was 
very much agitated, revihng and threatening everybody, 
speaking only of liberty, of committees, of public 
safety, revolutionary committees, and accusing all who 
approached her of being moderates and royalists. In 
1808 a distinguished personage, who had figured as 
chief of a party, visited the Salpetriere. Theroigne 
recognised him, raised herself from the bed of straw 
upon which she was lying, and overwhelmed the visitor 
with abusive language ; accusing him of having 
abandoned the popular party, and of being a Moderate, 
to whom a decree of the Committee of Public Safety would 
soon do justice. 

"In 1 8 10 she becomes more composed, and falls 
into a state of dementia, which enables us to observe 
traces of her early prevailing ideas. Theroigne was. 
unwilling to wear any clothing. Every day, both 
morning and evening, and many times a day, she 
waters her bed, or rather the straw of it, with several 
buckets of water, lies down, and covers herself with 
her sheet only in summer, and with both sheet and 
coverlid in winter. She amuses herself in walking with 
naked feet in her cell, which was flagged with stone, 
and inundated with water. Severe cold causes her tO' 
change this regimen in no respect. Never have they 
succeeded in inducing her to sleep in a night garment, 
nor to employ a second covering. During the last 
21 



354 A Woman of the Revolution 

three years of her life she was provided with a very- 
large morning gown, which, however, she rarely put 
on. When it froze, and she had not water in 
abundance, she was accustomed to break the ice, and 
take the water which she obtained from it and wet 
her body, particularly her feet. 

" Although in a small and gloomy cell, very damp 
and without furniture, she enjoys good health, and 
pretends to be occupied with very important matters. 
She smiles at persons who accost her, and sometimes 
replies hastily, * I don't know you,' and conceals 
herself under her covering. It is rare that she replies 
correctly. She often says, ' I do not know ; I have 
forgotten.' If they insist she becomes impatient, and 
talks to herself in a low voice. She articulates phrases, 
interspersed with the words fortune, liberty, committee, 
Revolution, rascal, warrant, decree, etc. She applies 
many of them to the Moderates. She is angry and 
transported with passion when opposed, especially 
when they desire to prevent her from taking water. 
She once bit a companion with so much fury as to 
take out a piece of flesh. The disposition of this 
woman had therefore outlived her understanding. 
She rarely leaves her cell, generally remaining there 
in bed. . . . She takes but few steps, most frequently 
proceeding upon all fours, and extends herself upon 
the ground. ... I have seen her devour straw, 
feathers, dried leaves, and morsels of meat lying in 
the dirt. She drinks cistern water whilst they wash 
the courts, although it may be dirty, preferring this 
drink to every other. 

*' I endeavoured to induce her to write. She traced 



La Salpetriere 3SS 

a few words, but was never able to complete a 
sentence. She never gave any indication of hysteria. 
When we wished to obtain her portrait in 1816 she 
willingly sat for it, but appeared to attach no im- 
portance to the work of the painter. ..." This was 
the extraordinary representation of Theroigne by 
Gabriel. 

On May ist, 1817, her physical health gave way. 
She was taken to the infirmary, where she died on 
June 9th, at the age of fifty-seven, without for a 
moment being restored to reason. An autopsy showed 
the abnormal condition of her brain. 

Thus, at the hour when the great Napoleon was 
wearing out his life in distant Saint Helena, the career 
of Theroigne de Mericourt came to its sad close. It 
was difficult to see again, in the blotched, livid, and 
fleshless creature she had become, the heroic charm, 
the clear flaming eyes of the woman of the people, 
whose great love had not been lavished upon a man 
or upon men, but upon an ideal, the passion for justice, 
for liberty — for the Revolution. 



/ 



APPENDIX A 

THEROIGNE AND THE ROYALIST PRESS 

REFERENCE has been made in the text to the treatment 
of Theroigne by the RoyaUst Press. Among the many 
journals which caricatured her, the Actes des Apotrts was per- 
haps the worst offender. The skit entitled " Club de la 
Revolution " appeared in No. 23. No. 32 contains a letter dated 
February 2nd, 1790, written from the Hotel de Grenoble, in 
which Theroigne is supposed to say: 

" Your journal, monsieur, being consecrated to the purpose of 
spreading throughout the universe the new principles intended to 
ensure the happiness of France and of all other nations, I beg you 
to insert in one of your first demagogic works the beginning of a 
poem I wish to dedicate to one of the most illustrious sovereigns 
who has filled the chair of the nation with capability and weight. 
My righteous impatience to sing the praises of this great genius does 
not allow me to wait for the conclusion of the work which I have 
the honour of addressing you, if the pubhc will deign to accept this 
feeble attempt by a feminine national muse. She dare not flatter 
herself that she will score a success with it, unless on account of 
the important topic she handles, a topic which should render her 
poem interesting to all posterity. 

" I am, with admiration of your demagogy, monsieur, your very 
humble and obedient servant, equal in rights and in knowledge 
of man, 

"Theroigne de Mericourt, 

•' Wife of the Modern Sovereign." 

Then follows a so-called " herio-natio-epi-constitutiono-politico- 
comic " poem entitled " La Targetade," beginning : 

Je chante ce lourdaud, president de la France, 
Et par droit de manege et par droit d'importance. 
357 



2S^ Appendix A 

The first part of the Populus play referred to on page 119 
appears in No. 38. Populus, Mirabeau, and Barnave are repre- 
sented as her lovers. The Abbe Sieyes also plays a part. 

In one act she is made to say : 

O destins fortunes, triomphe glorieux ! 
Vingt senateurs par jour remplissant tous nies voeux 
Accourent a mes pieds, d'une flamme immortelle 
Presenter a I'amour une offrande nouvelle. 

She swears to Populus that she loves no one but him. Never- 
theless, Populus has been told that Mirabeau is his rival. He 
offers to fight him ; an offer that Mirabeau refuses on principle, 
for he never fights. The farce continues. Two more lovers 
appear, Barnave and Anon, under which guise Camille Des- 
moulins was indicated. At length the Secretary of the Assembly 
arrives and tells Theroigne that before the end of the day she 
must privately choose between her lovers. In doubt, Theroigne 

soliloquises : 

O ciel, dans quel incertitude 
Flottent mes sens et mes esprits ! 

She appeals to Mirabeau, regretting that she is not permitted to 
divide her affections amongst several, and asks him to remain at 
her feet at least till Populus comes. But he flees from her cry- 
ing, " Que le diable t'emporte." 

In the end she makes it up with Populus. 

Theroigne 

Tu me verras, malgre ce soupcon trop injuste, 
Fidele k mes serments comma la diete auguste. 

Populus 

Dans cet heureux espoir, sans doute, il m'est bien doux 
De mettre, avec men cceur, un trone a tes genoux. 

Theroigne 

Protege ces noeuds saints, 6 dieu de la patrie ! 
Et que les Populus qui nous devront la vie, 
De I'aristocratie ardens persecuteurs, 
Deviennent potentats et regenerateurs ; 
Puisse le tendre amour sur leur jeune visage 
Imprimer d'un t^poux la seduisante image ; 
Et que r6gulateurs des destins de I'etat, 
Chacun d'eux, soit un jour president du senat. 

and so the play closes. 



Theroigne and the Royalist Press 359 

The following appears in No. 47 of the same journal. "This 
morning the beautiful Mericourt, displeased with her maid, spoke 
harshly to her. The servant, making a mistaken application of 
the first article of the Declaration of the Rights of Men and 
Women, dared to use her hands against our incomparable friend, 
and knocked her down in a manner quite new to Mile Theroigne. 
The neighbours say she fell backwards and appeared to go into 
convulsions. Then she remained quiet for a time as though she 
were dead." A bulletin as to her condition appeared in No. 49. 
" This divine maiden, restored by heaven . . . was within an ace 
of death." Doctors, surgeons, and apothecaries were called in to 
relieve her, and the treatment which brought about a cure was by 
applications of discourses by M. de Gouay d'Arcy on her left 
temple, perorations by Target, and a harangue by Mirabeau 
steeped in salts of ammonia. 

For a few numbers she was left in peace, and then followed 
coarse jokes in which Target and Mme de Stael figured. 

In No. 94 Robespierre is supposed to refer to her in a letter to 
one Mile Suzanne Forber. " You know Mile Theroigne ? " he 
writes. " We often speak of you. She is going to be married," 
and he proceeds to ask his correspondent to look up certain 
records at Arras, her home, in order that she may trace 
Th^roigne's descent from the noble family of the Comte de 
Terouenne. Some numbers later the reply to this letter comes, 
in which there is given a remarkable genealogical tree from which 
the " Semiramis of the Revolution," as Suzanne Forber names 
her, is supposed to have sprung. 

In the interval another letter from Theroigne appears to her 
virtuous friends the Apostles, in which she signs herself " frater- 
nally as demagogically, your sincere and faithful friend." 

In No. 98 a marriage has been arranged between Quichotte- 
Hudibras-Rodomant-Gavachin, hitherto known as the Marquis 
de Saint-Huruge, and Demoiselle Madelon-Friquet-Dulcin^e- 
Theroigne de Mericourt, majeure (Tatis et minenre de coutmne^ 
a widow by her first marriage with Cromwell-Honore-Mirabeau ; 
and this affords great distress to Populus. 

Some numbers later she is affianced to Populus again, and a 
grand account of the national marriage celebrated at Surenne, near 
Paris, between M. Populus and Dlle Theroigne de Mere-y-court, 
is given. 



3^0 Appendix A 

The marriage day of Dona Terouenne was announced by a 
discharge of 60 guns in honour of the 60 districts of Paris, and 
60 presidents were invited to the ceremony. The priest who 
pronounced the nuptial blessing called her the rosiire generale 
of the French empire, the star of the nation three times, the star 
of 39 provinces of the kingdom, the torch of 83 departments, 
and the people cried three times "Vive Terouenne, vive Populus, 
vive Robespierre ! " There was a dinner, opera, ballet, and 
altogether a brilliant fete, after which Lady Terouenne, mounting 
her good steed, rides off to quell an insurrection and leaved 
Populus repining. At the close of twenty-eight printed pages he 
is consoled and all ends well with the verse : 

J'aimais Terouenne et j'ai perdu son coeur, 
Pendant trois jours, men ame en fut emue ; 
Mais, a la fin, jugeant mieux mon malheur, 
Je vis que ce n'etait qu'une fille perdue. 

The Apocalypse was a short way behind the Actes des Apotres 
in profuseness of ridicule, but not at all in coarseness. In its 
pages Mme de Stael becomes a joint victim with Theroigne. In 
No. 3 the following appears : " Carried away by her patriotism, 
Theroigne made a speech at the Jacobins. She spoke with that 
victorious eloquence which masters minds and obtains votes. 
Suddenly her voice grew weak, and in the middle of a phrase 
she went off into a dead faint. General consternation ensued. 
Barnave, Mirabeau, Le Chapelier, and Robespierre rushed to- 
wards the daughter of the Revolution and made her inhale 
aromatic vinegar. Dr. Guillotin was unfortunately absent, and 
Populus, distracted, ran to find him." 

No. 4 contains a letter to the authors of the Apocalypse 
purporting to be from Mirabeau's head jockey. He has had 
the pleasure of reading the pages of their journal in Mile 
Theroigne's boudoir when he went there to deliver his master's 
love-letters. He describes a banquet followed by a picnic to 
Longchamp, at which Theroigne, dressed in her favourite riding- 
habit, led the way mounted on a superb English bay. Mirabeau 
followed in a gorgeous "wiski." Then came a number of others, 
and in the rear Mme de Stael and Talleyrand in a berline. 
When the cavalcade reached the Bois de Boulogne, the wheels of 
the wiski became entangled in the trees and it overturned. 



Theroigne and the Royalist Press 361 

precipitating its occupant upon mother earth. Unfortunately 
Le ChapeUer's horses rushed upon the debris of the wiski and 
'his cabriolet was upset, whilst the berline came down upon the 
rest. The resulting jumble must be read in the original to be 
appreciated. 

In No. 7 there is a rechristening of many of the Paris streets. 
The Rue des Boucheries was to be renamed Rue Barnave ; the 
Rue du Brave, Mirabeau ; the Rue Tire-Boudin, Rue de Stael, 
and so on ; while the Rue des Sept-Voies was to be known in 
future as Rue Theroigne. 

Coarse jests run likewise through Nos. lo, 12, 14, 16, 18, 
.and 19. 

The Journal de Pie of February nth, 1792, remarks that 
Theroigne was received well by the Jacobins, and that she had 
reversed her principles. A few days later the following appears 
in its pages : " Mme D., having said aloud some days ago when 
she saw Mile Theroigne de Mericourt that she wore a Jacobin 
air, was accosted in the Rue S. Martin, near the Cafe de I'Estrade, 
by four sansculottes who struck her a violent blow on the chest 
which knocked her down. She was saved from the hands of 
these brigands by an honest gentleman of her acquaintance who 
put them to flight. Some one cried out, ' We must complain 
to M. Petion.' One of the brigands turned round and shouted 
back, ' He won't hurt us.' We leave it to honest folk to make 
their comments on this expression, clear as it is to us." 

On February 27th, 1792, there is an account of a duel between 
Theroigne and a lady aristocrat. They did not catch hold of 
each other by the hair, as the spectators half expected they 
would, but they arranged a meeting in the Bois de Boulogne. 
Instead of using gunpowder, their seconds loaded the pistols 
with powder for the hair, and all the shots missed fire. This 
joke displeased the principals so deeply that they avenged them- 
selves upon the perpetrators for the affront offered to their 
courage. 

The Martyrologe National, the Chronique du Manage, and 
the Feuille du Jour were amongst the papers that amused 
themselves at The'roigne's expense. A quotation from the pages 
of Le Rodeur will serve to complete this short account of her 
claims to be regarded as a never-failing target for the shafts of wit 
let loose by aristocrat pamphleteers : 



362 Appendix A 

" ' Le RoDEUR ' REUNI AU CHRONIQUEUR SECRET DE LA 

Revolution 

" Mile Theroigne, who continually appears as the object of the 
good and bad pleasantries of MM. the soi-disant forty-five directors 
of the National Company of the Ades des Apotres, is not an 
imaginary being, as many ignorant people have believed. She 
is an amiable young lady of two-and-twenty, born in the Luxem- 
burg. She was at Rome when M. Bailli sounded at Versailles 
the destruction of all the orders, and hastened to return to the 
banks of the Seine to protect the dawning liberty of the French. 
Her enthusiasm for the rights of man soon made itself felt, and, 
as she took up the cause of the people with great warmth, the 
forty-five apostles imagined an intrigue between her and M. Populus. 
This admirable girl has neither father nor mother ; but she enjoys 
an income of ten thousand livres, which she shares with the 
honourable architects of the French Constitution, The honorables 
to whom she gives dinner have praised her ; she has become 
noticeable in the Salle du Manege, assisting regularly at all the 
meetings, at all the debates, and encouraging by gesture and 
voice the honourable members. Revolutionary committees have 
been held at her house. They have driven many nails into the 
machinery of the Constitution ; they have so exalted the rights 
of man that the forty-five apostles, seized by utter aristocratic 
impotence, have permitted themselves every form of ridicule and 
detraction that jealous rage could devise. Into what gall have 
they not dipped their pens of base alloy in the process of 
besmirching so vast a reputation as that of our heroine ! How 
correct was Voltaire when he called envy the eighth human sin ! 
But that which will astonish our descendants and the centuries 
which are still in the embryo in the abyss of time, is that among 
the friends of Mile Theroigne there is not one who has dared 
publicly to take up the cause of this adorable nymph and to 
prove her inviolable in the eyes of the forty-five apostles. The 
honorables have maintained a far too modest silence in this 
matter, and have contented themselves with meriting the superb 
device of Louis IV. : 

" Regna Assignata 
Page terra marique parta." 



APPENDIX B 

NOTE ON SOME PORTRAITS OF THEROIGNE DE 
MERICOURT 

I. A PAINTING at the Musee Carnavalet attributed to Vestier. 
x\. Theroigne is wearing a ribbon in her fair hair and a. 
fichu over a yellow bodice. Frontispiece. 

2. A painting at the Musee Carnavalet. Artist unknown. 

3. A painting attributed to Greuze, exhibited at the Trocadero 
in 1878. Described by Henry Jouin in "Notices des Portraits 
Nationaux " (1879). "En buste, la tete tournee vers I'epaule 
gauche ; robe bleue, ouverte, fichu croise ; ceinture blanche ; 
grand bonnet sur les cheveux." Page ^$. 

4. Portrait at the Bibliotheque Nationale, wearing a cap of 
linen over her hair, which falls over her shoulders in ringlets.. 
One breast uncovered. Reproduced by Dayot. 

5. A drawing by Danlou; wearing an Amazon hat with tri- 
coloured ribbons. In the possession of the Vicomte de Reiset. 
and reproduced in the Car7iet. Page 213. 

6. An engraving by Devritz of No. 4. Page 177. 

7. Portrait appearing as a frontispiece to M. Marcellin Pellet's 
" Life of Theroigne," and discovered by him. 

8. A sketch by Raffet reproduced in Lamartine's "Histoire 
des Girondins," inspired probably by the portrait in the 
Bibliotheque Nationale. Page 105. 

9. The profile drawing by Gabriel, made at the La Salpetriere 
in 18 1 6 when Theroigne was mad. This is the only authentic 
portrait. Page 335. 



363 



I 



INDEX 



Actes des Apotres (Les), 117, 119, 

131, 134, 139. 300, 314 
Aiguillon, Due de, 133 
Arne, Dr., 42 

Artois, Comte d', 67, 74. 81 
Audu, Reine, 322 

Bailly, 81, 114, 264 

Barnave, 67, 122, 134, 135, 136, 
263, 343 

Barras, 340 

Barreau, Alexandrine, 273 

Basire, 294, 295, 343 

Bastille, 74, 75. 7^, 77, 79. 80, 85, 
299 ; Plate of Fall of the Bas- 
tille, 69 

Baudet, 145 

Beauharnais, 122, 260 

Bedford, Duke of, 122 

Bender, Marechal, 202, 203 

Berthier, 83, 293 

Billaud-Varennes, 325 

Bosc d'Antic, 128 

Bouille, 304 

Bouyon, Abbe, 313 

Brent, Miss, 42 

Brissot, 120, 122, 132, 140, 325, 
338, 343 ; Portrait, 267 

Broglie, Due de, 136 

Bronsonnet, 296, 297 

Campinados, Mme, Theroigne 

known as, 22, 36, 41, 46 
Carra, 200, 202, 203 
Cazotte, Elizabeth, 325 
Cervenon, 41 
Chabot, 294, 305 
Chabray, Louison, 97 
Chamfort, 122 
Champcenetz, 117, 118, 134 
Chapelier, 67, 136, 137 
Charton, Mme, 179 



Chateauvieux, 1225 261, 296, 297— 

300, 303, 304 
Chenier, Andre, 297, 298 
Chenier, M. J., 122, 297, 298;: 

Portrait, 249 
Clamend, Leonard, 243 
Clamend, Mme, 23 
Clermont Tonnerre, I2i, 132 
Cloots, A., 140 
Club des Cordeliers, 80, 114, 140, 

144, 147. 150 
Club des Feuillants, 114, 126 
Club des Jacobins, 140, 147, 162, 

201, 225, 264, 265, 290, 295, 296, 

298, 304, 326, 352 
Colbert, Mme, 23, 25, 26 
Collot d'Herbois, 291, 297, 304, 

305, 326, 343 
Conde, Prince de, 82, 206 
Condorcet, 122, 125, 131, 154, 155, 

343 
Condorcet, Mme de, 132, 305, 32S 
" Contrat Social," 180 
Couthon, 345 
Cramer, Professor, 46 
Custine, 326 

Daguet, 128 

Dansard, 166 

Danton, 114, 140, 149, 167, 266, 

326, 343. 348 
Dauphin (Louis XVIL), 309, 320 
David, Giacomo, 39, 40 
David, J. L., 298, 299, 300 
Day of Poignards, 263 
De Launay, 75, 76, 78, 79 
Desmoulins, Camille, 74, 114, 

120, 122, 140, 147, 149, 299, 

315 
Dufourny, 269, 270 
Dumouriez, 327, 328 
Dupont de Nemours, 298 



365 



366 



Index 



Duport-Dutertre, 197 
Durazzo, Marquis, 57, 58, 59 

Ecureux, Henriette, 175 

Elie, 76 

Elizabeth, Archduchess of Austria, 

210 
Elhott, Mrs., 192, 193 
Espinchal, Comte Thomas d', 34 
Esquirol, 351 

Fabre d'Eglantine, 140, 149 
Fauchet, Abbe, 305 
Feast of Pikes, 259, 260 
Fernig Sisters, 273, 275 
Forster, George, 341 
Foulon, 83, 293 
FrankHn, Benjamin, 303 
Frederick the Great, 185 
Freiburg in Breisgau, 208, 209, 
227 

Gabriel, 341 

Garat, 67 

Gattey, 117 

Gaudet, 266, 305, 325 

Genlis, Comtesse de, 122, 167 

Girondins, 326, 328, 337, 338 

Gorsas, 296 

Gouttes, Abbe, 137 

Greiffenstein, Rudler von, 208 

Greuze, 122 

Guillotin, Dr., 132 

Hall, Adela, 319 

Hammersley, 35, 59, 60 

Hebert, 167 

Helvetius, Mme, 122, 125 

Hion, 266, 299 

Hulin, 76 

Hyde de Neuville, 145, 146 

Joseph II., Emperor of Austria, 
185, 191 

Kaunitz, Prince, 246, 253, 271 
Kertzen, 41 

Kufstein, 20,- 125, 163, 208, 217, 
240, 245, 256, 257 

La Boverie, 17, 187, 188, 191, 198, 
221, 227, 234, 235 



Lacombe Rose (Claire), 165, 322 

La Fargue, 316 

Lafayette, 78, 95, 98, 100, 114 

Lahaye, Elizabeth, 21 

Lahaye, Mme, Theroigne known 

as, 247, 253 
Lally-Tollendal, 81 
Landresc, Baron de, 208, 209, 217, 

230 
Lanthenas, 271, 272 
Larminat, 127, 128 
Lasource, 266 
Le Blanc, Francois, 222-30, 240, 

241, 243-9, 256 
Lechoux, 200 
Le Comte, Mme, Theroigne known 

as, 48 
Le Couteulx et Cie, 344 
Legislative Assembly, 265, 315, 

320 
Leon, Pauline, 167 
Leopold II., Emperor of Austria, 

185, 301, 212, 224, 225, 227, 

230, 240, 246, 251, 253, 255, 256, 

258, 271, 273, 288, 352 ; Portrait, 

195 
Lepelletier, 168 
Le Sourd, 315 
Liancourt, Due de, 136 
Lostalot, 266-70 
Louis XIV., 296 
Louis XV., 1 1 1 
Louis XVL, 67, 80-2, 85, 90, 93, 

100, loi, 151, 188, 229, 254, 260, 

261, 264, 306, 308-10, 320, 323, 

328 

Madame Royale, 320 

Maillard, 86, 92, 93, 97 

Maillebois, Comte de, 237 

Manuel, 272 

Mara, Mme, 46, 47 

Marat, 114, 120, 168, 326, 339, 340f 

343 
Maret, 128 
Marie Antoinette, 19, 67, 80, 82-4, 

89, 94, 98-100, 186, 200, 244, 

256, 262, 273, 309, 310, 320, 321, 

323, 328, 344 
Mederer, 245, 246, 341 
Meersch, van der, 194 
Mengin-Salabert, Baron, 28, 29, 

30. 136 



Index 



367 



Mercy-Argenteau, 200, 204, 215, 

230, 273 
Mesdames, 261, 262 
Metternich, 20, 241, 257 
Minimes, Societe Fraternelle des, 

168, 278, 284, 288 
Mirabeau, 67, 98, 114, n8, 122, 

132. 136, 139. HO, 194,201,263, 

348 
Mirabeau (" Tonneau "), 118 
Momoro, 140 

Montagnards, 326, 328, 341 
Montveran, Tournacheau de, 102 
Moore, Dr. John, 323, 324 
Morellet, 125 
Mounier, 67, 93, 98 

Napoleon, 355 

National Assembly, 63, 66-8, 80, 
81, 83, 84, 95, 99-101, 104, 126, 
128, 131, 151, 157, 216, 229, 260, 
264, 265 

National Convention, 265 

Necker, 66, 72 

Necker, Mme, 121, 122 

Noot, Hendrik van der, 192-7 

Olympe de Gouges, 132, 157 
Orleans, Due d' (Philippe Egalite), 

68, 69, 117, 124, 136, 137, 326, 

348 

Palais Royal, 68, 72, 79 

Palloy, 80, 296 

Palm, Etta, 161-5, 167 

Pare, 149 

Peltier, 117, iiB, 319 

Peretti, 42 

Perregaux, 35, 58, loi, 186, 188, 

189, 193, 205, 215, 242,248, 257, 

258, 327 
Persan, Marquis de, 32, 36, 37, 

53, 58, 190, 248 ; agreement 

with Theroigne, 32 ; his letters, 

37-9. 40, 53-5 
Person, M. Francois, 198, 233, 

251 
Petion, Jerome, 84, 95, 135, 138, 

263, 293, 295, 298, 206, 207, 

309, 310, 315; Portrait, 510 
Pitt, William, 328 
Poitiers, Mme, Theroigne takes 

name of, 182 



Polignac, Mme de, 247 
Populus, 119, 120, 135, 138, 139, 
201, 319; Portrait of, 123 

Rabaut de Saint-Etienne, 67 
Regnaud de Saint-Jean d'Angely, 

349. 351 
Renant, Rose, 175 
Restaut, 297 
Reveillon, 66 
Rivarol, 117, 118 
Robert, Mme {nee Keralio), 166, 

167 
Robespierre, 46, 132, 136, 137, 

140, 265, 266, 290, 291, 304, 305, 

326, 337, 343, 345- 348 
Robespierre le Jeune, 348 
Roederer, 167, 307 
Roland, 122 
Roland, Mme, 122-5, 128, 167, 

328 
Romme, Charles, 127 
Romme, Gilbert, 126-31, 139, 343 ; 

Portrait, 159 
Ronsin, 140 
Roucher, 297 

Rousseau, Charles Louis, 158, 161 
Rousseau, J. J., iii, 180, 303 

Saint-Huruge, 293, 307 
Saint-Just, 140, 343, 345- 352; 

Portrait, 301 
Saint-Malon, Comte de, 199, 206, 

207 
Salpetriere, La, 347, 349, 352, 353 
Santerre, 291, 292, 303, 309, 310 
Santerre, Mme, 291 
Schlosser, Antoine, 247 
Schceniger, Andre, 217-23 
Selys, Baron de, 237-43, 258, 327, 

344 
Selys, Mme de, 238, 239, 242 
Selys, Victoire de, 238 
Septenville, Fran^oise- Louise, 41 
Sieyes, Abbe, 67, 84, 114, 117, 121, 

122, 131, 133-7, 139, 215, 260, 

270, 349 
Sieyes, Joseph-Honore, 84 
Sombreuil, Mile de, 325 
Sponville, 127, 128 
Stael, Mme de, 121, 134, 305, 328 
Strogonoff, Count (Otcher), 127, 

130, 139 



368 



Index 



Suleau, F., ii8, 311- 15, 318-20, 
348 ; his birth, 314 ; trial, 314 ; at 
Coblenz, 314; his death, 315 

Tailhard, 127 

Talleyrand, 133, 260 

Tallien, 167, 168, 305 

Talma, Julie, 122 

Target, 67, 133, 134, 

Tenducci, Dora, 42-5 

Tenducci, Ferdinando, his birth, 
41 ; career in United Kingdom, 
41-5 ; and Dr. Arne, 42 ; elopes 
with an heiress, 42 ; imprisoned, 
42 ; in debt, 43, 49 ; his pupils, 
46 ; agreement with Theroigne, 
47, 48 ; in Paris, 50 ; declared 
bankrupt, 53 ; breaks his con- 
tract, 56, 57 

Terwagne, Joseph, 2 1, 53,61,62,340 

Terwagne, Pierre, Senior, 21, 50, 

235 

Terwagne (or Theroigne), Pierre, 
Junior, 21, 53, 60-2, 187, 191, 
198, 199, 212, 215, 221, 230-6, 
239, 242, 243, 253 

Terwagne, Pierrot, 62, 243 

Theobold, Madame, Theroigne 
known as, 20, 218 

Theroigne de Mericourt, Anne- 
Josephe, birth, 21 ; at convent 
school, 22 ; herds cows, 22 ; 
appearance, 23 ; education, 24 ; 
in London, 25 ; elopes, 26 ; her 
musical abilities, 30, 35 ; letters 
from the Marquis de Persan, 
31. 37-9. 54. 55 ; meets David, 
39 ; her daughter, 41 ; relations 
with Tenducci, 41, 45-53, 56, 
57 ; in Genoa, 56, 60 ; her 
finances, 58-61, 187, 188, 237, 
247 ; in Rome, 62 ; interest in 
the National Assembly, 63, 66, 
68 ; at the Hotel de Toulouse, 
65 ; in the gardens of the Palais 
Royal, 68, 72, 79; on July 14th, 
75' 76, IT, 78; on July 17th, 
80, 81 ; on October 5th and 6th, 
85-109 ; at Versailles, 92, 107 ; 
evidence against her, 101-7 ; her 
democratic views, 108-10, 207 ; 
her club, 113, 125-31, 134-44; 
and the royalist press, 118-20, 



151, 180, 197, 200, 256, 257, 
281, 282, 293-6, 312, 357-62,' 
figures in a caricature of a club, 
I33» 134- plate, 141 ; her powers 
of oratory, 145-9, 'h'^1', 3^8; at 
the Club des Cordeliers, 147- 
50 ; marches with the deputies, 
1 52 ; works for the women's- 
cause, 152, 157, 158, 162 ; mem- 
ber of the Societe Fraternelle 
des Minimes, 168 ; her speech 
there, 282-8; leaves Paris, 181-4; 
afraid of arrest, 183 ; travels to 
Marcourt, 184-6; her mission 
to Brabant, 185, 188, 191, 194-8, 
202-4 ; her jewels, 187, 188, 
258; at La Boverie, 187, 188, 
191, 198-200 ; and van der 
Noot, 191, 193; and Mercy- 
Argenteau, 200, 204, 230; her 
arrest, 202, 204, 205 ; at Coblenz, 
206 ; and the Prince de Conde,, 

207 ; at Freiburg in Breisgau, 

208 ; letters to her brother, 212, 
230-34; at Kufstein, 221-43 ^ 
obtains a piano, 221, 222; her 
suffering, 222, 223 ; at the Cha- 
teau de Fanson, 237 ; and the 
Baron de Selys, 237-9, 242, 243 ; 
and La Valette, 244 ; her ill 
health, 245-8: called Mme 
Lahaye, 247 ; letter to Perre- 
gaux, 248, 257 ; and Le Blanc, 
252, 253; in court, 253-6; re- 
turns to Paris, 258 ; supposed 
doings at Bellevue, 262, 263 ; 
reception by the Jacobins, 265- 
73 ; her military ardour, 273, 
277, 281-4; she receives a 
check, 289-92 ; at a civic ban- 
quet, 292, 293 ; her boudoir, 
293-6 ; and the Swiss of 
Chateauvieux, 296-304 ; and 
Marie-Joseph Chenier, 299, 300 ; 
and Mme de Stael, 305 ; and 
the demonstrations of June 20, 
306-10; on August 10, 311-13, 
317-20 ; kills Suleau, 319 ; 
receives a civic crown, 322 : 
John Moore's description of, 
323, 324 ; and the September 
massacres, 325 ; and Dumouriez, 
327, 328 ; her stirring appeal 



Index 



369 



to the 48 sections, 328-34 ; as- 
saulted by the Jacobins women, 
338-41 ; description by George 
Forster, 341, 342 ; her madness, 
343 ; arrest, 344 ; letter to Saint- 
Just, 345, 346 ; at the Salpetridre, 
347-55 ; death, 355 ; Portraits, 
Appendix B, 363 ; Plates, 
frontispiece, 33, 105, 177, 313, 

335 
Thiebault, Baron, 315-18 
Thouret, 67, 133 
Thuriot, 297 
Tuileries, 307, 308, 309, 320, 321, 

352 / 



Valette, Chevalier Maynard de !a, 
79, 107-10, 136, 199, 228, 243, 
244 

Varennes, 263 

Vergniaud, 305, 325 

Versailles, 68, 81, 83, 84, 90-94, 
96, 98, 107, 262, 263, 352 ; march 
of the women to, 86 et seq 

Veytard, Fran9ois-Xavier, 102, 103 

Volney, 67, 122 

Voltaire, in, 264, 303 

Walpole, 122 
Young, Arthur, 71 



Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. 



